Memories in Rewind: Season 1
by Keysuna
Summary: Chapter 9 up! It's true deja vu when your back to the beginning again, with facts from the future. But friendships are fragile things, and history doesn't always repeat itself if mortals aren't willing to play the same part.
1. Prologue: Back to the Beginning

Memories in Rewind: Season 1  
  
~Keysuna  
  
Warning: Spoilers for every episode of Season 1.  
  
Summary: Back to the beginning again, with facts from the future. But if you know how everything is going to turn out, can you fix everything to be right?  
  
Timeline: N/A  
  
Pairings: Everything that's been in the show.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The moon hung innocently in the sky, a crescent form that did little to provide light. Buffy kept her hands in her pockets to protect against the slight chill that ran through the silent streets and her gaze wistfully wandered the landscape; trying to spy any form of demonic activity. Her hunts had come up fruitless only a month or so after Willows spell to spread the power of the Slayer to every potential. It seemed the Watchers Council had been quick enough to respond to the sudden plethora of able Slayers, due in large part to Wesley who had rebuilt it in record time.  
  
"Are you Buffy?"  
  
The voice came from behind, and Buffy broke out of her thoughts to spin around, stake in hand and become focused on the intruder. Her speed surprised even her, not having a good fight in nights had left her tense and alert. The figure in front of her was a women in her late 20's, long red hair braided in the back revealing a freckled face and eyes that were covered by the night. But she wasn't human.  
  
The original Slayer drew back the weapon and stepped out of the fighting stance she had fallen into. "What do you want?" She asked with more hospitality then she had intended.  
  
"Just to talk." The women replied smoothly, not put off by the harshness of the human. "And to make an offer."  
  
Buffy nodded, it was rare that she encountered a demon, or unworldly creature that wanted to talk rather then fight, and as much as she lusted for the later, she gave a curt nod for the figure to continue.  
  
"The powers are not happy with you right now." She said blandly. "Actually, they've never seen you as anything but a nuisance, always trying to tip the scales in your favor-"  
  
"Tip the scales?" Buffy echoed, cutting off the red head in the process.  
  
The women nodded and continued as though she hadn't been interrupted. "But then you go and release a force onto the world that forgets the balance all together, that. . ." She trailed off and met Buffy's harsh gaze. "Really irritated the big guys up there."  
  
The original Slayer gaped. "How else did they expect that I defeat the essence of evil? Take it out to dinner? Buy it a present?" The sarcasm caused the women to laugh, a light giggle that seemed appropriate on her face.  
  
"You were never meant to confront the First Evil." She replied simply after she had returned to her fact like facade. "You messed up."  
  
"You mean by saving the world?" Buffy asked with a choked laugh. "Multiple times?"  
  
The women sighed. "More like the way you did it." She started a slow walk into the night, and Buffy shook her head before following.  
  
"Okay. . . what did I do?" The Slayer asked wistfully, seeing that she had no choice if the Powers That Be were involved with this chance meeting.  
  
The red head turned to look back to where Buffy trailed her steps closely behind. "Well you died."  
  
"The first time or the second?"  
  
"I'm going in chronological order, so the first, at the hands of a vampire." Her words were blunt.  
  
The Slayer gave a nervous smile, a little at lose with the attack of words about her death. "Master, he was a master vampire."  
  
She waved it off. "Whatever, doesn't matter."  
  
Buffy blinked at the brush away, her eyes lifting at the women's rudeness.  
  
"That next year you were met by Acathla. Not that you were aware, but the demon is an agent of the First. If you hadn't caught the sight of him, the First wouldn't of known about your identity for a good while later."  
  
They had entered the commercial part of town, and the red head led Buffy into a small café lit by rusty lamps. The Slayer blinked against the added light as she they sat at an end table beside a large window. The shop was near empty, the only other costumes out of ear shot of them.  
  
"I had no control over any of that." Buffy clarified as she slid her black leather coat off her shoulders and onto the back of the chair.  
  
The women picked up a menu and read over it quickly, her eyes drifted up to the Slayer's for a moment after she spoke. "The one who called forth Acathla was a demon who you had summoned forth, are mocha lattes any good? I can never keep all these mortal drinks straight."  
  
Buffy gawked for a moment before giving a slight nod. "Yeah, they're okay, I'm more of a frappacheno girl myself."  
  
She nodded and set the menu down, returning her attention to the Slayer. "Of course, even though the First Evil knew of you, pure sin couldn't enter the realms of this dimension. . . a spell that was cast before your time." The women added after gaining a confused look from Buffy. "That didn't last long of course, because you allowed an ascension to take place, creating a rift in the barrier and allowing a true demon to walk the soil, even if it was only for a few moments."  
  
"That so. . . was not my fault." Buffy stated hastily, her breath becoming caught with the onslaught of her missteps.  
  
The women smiled slightly. "I never said any of this was, it was just things that you let spill through the cracks that are now catching up with you."  
  
As she was about to speak again, a waitress came by to collect their orders. The women ordered a mocha latte while Buffy, shaken by what she was being told, asked for tea.  
  
"So, what did I do my freshman year of collage that screwed up the balance?" Buffy asked flippantly and sighed.  
  
"You called upon the essence of the Slayer, opening the power of your line to any one looking for it." The women shrugged. "I expect it was a for a good cause?"  
  
"Evil super human hybrid. . ." Buffy trailed.  
  
She bit her lower lip in a nod. "I remember hearing of that. . . it's very irritating when mortals meddle in the creation of life. Does more harm the good. Anyway you died again the summer after that and when you were brought back, you tore the protection of the Slayer line apart."  
  
Buffy was going to say that she never asked to be brought back, but their drinks came and the Slayer took it with relief as she set the warm cup between her hands, feeling it's heat calm her.  
  
The women took a sip of the mocha late and smiled pleasantly. "Although your species is meddlesome, it's little wonders like these that make you so intriguing."  
  
The Slayer let the comment pass.  
  
The red head tasted the liquid once more before setting it down on the table. "Even though the Slayer line was weakened, the First still couldn't materialize into this realm."  
  
She paused to take a sip, but a thought popped into Buffy's head.  
  
"This wasn't the first time I've encountered the First. He, he tried to kill Angel a few years ago."  
  
She nearly spit out her drink as she let out a laugh. "Oh yes, I remember that little spot of chaos that occurred. The ensouled vampire, Angel you call him? He was involved in a series of events that had been pulled together by a goddess who takes the name Jasmine in this dimension. The First saw Jasmine as a threat, she planned to spread a utopia of peace on the world using two demonic mortals to bring her into earth. So, he tried to do away with the vampire before he was put into play of the prophecy." She took a long sip and then continued. "Along with your emotions and Jasmines snow, the First failed to dust the vampire."  
  
"But, you said that the First couldn't materialize onto this world. . ."  
  
"Oh right, silly me." The red head shook her head in slight embarrassment. "The First Evil had no power here. To go against you then would have been futile, but to play mind games with a guilt ridden vampire? Any mortal with the right information could have done the same."  
  
The Slayer took a moment to absorb the information about her past lover's part in the world. "You said this Jasmine planned to spread peace throughout the world." Buffy motioned to the world right outside the window. "Not to much peace going on."  
  
"The vampire decided that the price for peace was to high." She shrugged. "It doesn't matter though. On reflection, we've decided that Jasmines idea was not in our best interest."  
  
She took another sip, and Buffy took the first drink of her tea. It was comfortably warm on her tongue.  
  
"Now, back to business." The read head declared. "This past year, your friend, the witch? She called upon dark powers that gave the First access to this realm." She sighed. "What you experienced with the First will not be your last fight, this barely even fazed him, actually, it gave him power. The First can feed off the Slayer lines energy, and now that the power has grown nearly one hundred times the amount it was. . . the earth will not live to survive the next attack."  
  
"So, what are you saying?" Buffy asked nervously.  
  
"On reflection of your activities as a Slayer, were going to send you back to when the trouble begun."  
  
"You mean your going to set back time to before Willow did the spell to unleash the power in the potentials?" She wondered in disbelief.  
  
The women shook her head at the girls naiveté. "No, there's is to great a chance that you will fail in the attack. We're going back to the where to the trouble originates."  
  
Buffy sat back in her chair. "Your setting back time to when I first became a Slayer."  
  
"No, not exactly." The women told her. "To when you first stepped foot upon the hellmouth."  
  
"You can't." Buffy cried, feeling rage build up behind her eyes and within her limbs.  
  
The red head cocked a brow at the rise in power. "Its already been decided. I'll be checking up on you at the end of every year to see that everything is going according to plan."  
  
"But how is sending me back going to help? It's not like I'll know what to do-"  
  
She cut her off. "You'll remember everything to this moment, now, are you ready?"  
  
Buffy stared at her in disbelief. "I'm not going to relive my whole life."  
  
"Yes, you are." The red head declared flatly. "Think about it, how many lives you can save, how many mistakes you can fix?"  
  
The Slayer breathed in a large breath. "Do I even have a choice?"  
  
"Nope." The red head smiled at the reluctance and readied the energy to alter the time streams carried in the ether. "We're taking you back to the beginning, ready?"  
  
"As I'll ever be." Buffy sighed, letting one last look at the streets of the present before starring back at the messenger in front of her. There was a moment were she met her gaze, and then the Slayer felt her body go limp as the world fell away. Before she could gather her boundaries, reality slipped from her and she was pulled into sleep. 


	2. Chapter One: Welcome to the Hellmouth

Welcome to the Hellmouth  
  
~Keysuna  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
The dream haunted her as she rolled over onto her side, closing her eyes from the harsh light that streamed through the window. Images she had seen before played in her head, whispering of a prophecy of which she already knew the ending of.  
  
"Buffy!"  
  
The voice jolted her up, and she rubbed the back of her neck in confusion as her eyes met the sight before her. Boxes stacked against unpainted walls in her room that was supposedly lost in an earthquake to which the rest of the town had been swallowed in. . .  
  
"Buffy, are you awake? Don't want to be late for your first day!"  
  
"Shit." Buffy whispered under her breath, throwing the blankets off her as she let her feet sink onto the carpet of her floor. The demon had sent her back to her first day of high school, to the harvest and pop quizzes, to a world of snotty cheerleaders and sadistic vampires. To her home, to her. . . mom. "I'm up!" She yelled quickly, hoping her voice carried down toward the kitchen.  
  
There was a pause of silence, and for a moment Buffy thoughts something was wrong. "All right honey, hurry up."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
The car ride to school consisted of Buffy rattling off a list of things she was going to accomplish, some known and some she would make certain of. Her mother gave her glances as she drove, smiling at her daughters enthusiasm.  
  
"You sure about running for homecoming?" Joyce asked as she met her daughters eyes.  
  
"Yep, and this time I'll be sure to not get into the limousine of the dead-" Buffy quickly clapped a hand over her mouth as her mother shot her a strange look.  
  
Joyce gave a half smile of amusement. "This time?"  
  
"Dream." Buffy covered. "I had a dream, a really weird dream."  
  
Her mother shook her head and pulled up to the curb at the front of the school. "Here we are!" Joyce said excitedly and Buffy leaned over to give her mom a hug. When she had made her way down from her room that morning she had taken her mother in an embrace that almost stopped her breathing. She had been ecstatic at seeing her mother again, and the feeling still lingered as she broke apart to open the car door.  
  
"Just keep thinking positive." Joyce gave her daughter a thumbs up and she stepped out of the car.  
  
Buffy smiled and gave a quick glance toward the mass of people that had congregated onto the steps of Sunnydale Highschool. Her eyes caught a flash of someone trying to gain his balance on a skateboard, was that. . . no, it couldn't be, Xander?  
  
"And Buffy?" Her mother brought her back to reality and the Slayer forced her attention back toward the car. "Try not to get kicked out."  
  
Buffy smiled. "I promise." With a last grin she shut the car door closed and headed eagerly to where she had spotted her soon to be friend. Her eyes grazed the thong of students who moved through the cement sea like fish and although Buffy caught glances of people she knew, her sight failed to recognize anyone she was in dire need of conversing with.  
  
Shrugging it off, knowing that she would encounter the scoobie gang later, Buffy pushed her way through the crowd in the direction of the principals office, wanting ample time to stop by the library before the first bell rang. If there was one thing she wanted to accomplish this year, it was passing at least Isome/I of her classes.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Buffy Summers, sophomore, late of Hemery High in Los Angeles. Interesting record, quite a career..." Principal Flutie read off before tearing the paper in four uneven strips. Apart of Buffy hoped that he wouldn't actually bother to skim the paper this time. . .  
  
"Welcome to Sunnydale!" He told her with a smile she had never learned to like. "A clean slate, Buffy, that's what you get here. What's past is past. We're not interested in what it says on a piece of paper, even if it says. . ." Lost to her hopes, he scanned the record. "Whoa."  
  
Buffy winced as he begun to tape the paper back together. "I know it's not a picture perfect transcript. . . but I got an A in social history." She offered weakly.  
  
His eyes met hers over his glasses. "You burned down the gym."  
  
"I know, but it wasn't my fault, there were. . ." She had the strangest sense of deja vu and then realized that that's because she had actually done this before. "rats."  
  
The principal sighed and leaned on his elbows to get closer to her. "Buffy, don't worry. Any other school they might say 'watch your step', or 'we'll be watching you'... But, that's just not the way *here*. We want to service your needs, and help you to respect our needs. And if your needs and our needs don't mesh. . ." He slid the transcript into the folder and shut it closed. "Why don't you go mingle with the other students. Try to break into the social jungle." He smiled at her, ending the meeting on what he thought was a high note as he dismissed her.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy escaped the confines of the principals office with a breath of stale hall way air. As long as it had been, she still remembered every little thing about Sunnydale High, right down to the leaky drinking fountain right outside room 405. As much as she had hated school sometimes, Buffy was happy to be back.  
  
That feeling lasted all of a second before she bumped into a girl as she started toward the library, spilling the contents of her bag to the floor.  
  
"Oh, sorry!" She called out, dropping to pick up her stuff.  
  
"That's okay." The girl responded quickly, hurrying to catch up with the boy she had been walking with.  
  
Buffy sighed and started to gather her stuff. "I'll probably end up saving your life anyway." She sighed, her hand out to grab a pencil. The Slayer noticed a boy, squatting beside her, a shy smile on his face.  
  
"Hi." He said nervously. "I'm Xander. . . I don't know you, do I?" The boy picked up a binder and handed it to Buffy who just stared at him.  
  
It took her a moment to keep from cracking up at the sight of her friend. Or, soon to be friend. Apart of her wanted to take him into an embrace, but the rational side of her brain reminded her that the gesture might be a tad to strong for a first meeting. "Buffy, I'm Buffy, I mean, I'm new." She stammered out quickly, taking the offered binder. Her eyes met his gaze, and she noticed with satisfaction that he had both of them, she intended it to stay that way.  
  
They gathered the rest of the stuff in silence and rose together, Xander standing awkwardly. "Well, uh, maybe I'll see you around... maybe at school... since we... both... go there."  
  
"Great!" Buffy said a little enthusiastically. "Count on it."  
  
The boy grinned and started to walk toward his class, watching Buffy over his shoulder and tripping through the students in the crowd. Smiling to herself as she hugged her binder to her chest, Buffy started toward the library.  
  
As she walked down the hall, she checked a clock. There were five minutes until the first bell. She could check in with Giles and promise she would stop by again when she had a free period. The large push door stood before her and she took a breath before entering the library. It was time to make a first impression - again.  
  
She entered a lifeless and still room that felt comfortable. The library had always been a safe haven for her, that is, when the hellmouth wasn't opening.  
  
"Yoo, hoo, anyone here?" She asked, stepping further in.  
  
It took the Slayer a moment to see Giles stepping down the steps toward her. "Can I help you with anything?" He asked, looking her over.  
  
"Yeah, I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer." She put out a hand when he arrived near her. He was taken back a little by her bluntness, but took her hand in his in a half hearted shake.  
  
"Rupert Giles. . . Watcher." He responded uneasily. "How did you know-"  
  
"That your my Watcher?" She finished for him. "Lucky guess."  
  
He was about to respond, but the bell rang and Buffy jumped. "Got to go, class, I'll stop by when I'm free."  
  
She started for the door, but turned as she walked so she still faced him. "There's a thing coming, The Harvest, my memories a little fuzzy on the details but it was something to do with the Master walking again. Could you check it out?" Buffy pushed the door open with her back. "See ya."  
  
As the doors swung behind her, Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his shirt. "Dear," He said to himself. "Oh dear."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy heard the teacher rattle on about the Black Death, but didn't process the information. Even though she had just barely passed this class, she had picked up enough about the little disease throughout her school years to pass an exam without having to study, or pay attention in class.  
  
She watched as everyone brought out books, turning to a page that Buffy hadn't caught. She turned to the girl next to her for help, and found herself face to face with Cordelia.  
  
Cordelia smiled and Buffy forced herself to return the gesture as the girl shared her book with her. The Slayer kept her eyes lost to the page to avoid conversation, but as the bell rang, she noticed that Cordelia was talking to her.  
  
"Hi! I'm Cordelia." She offered her hand, and Buffy begrudgingly took it.  
  
"Buffy."  
  
They walked toward the hall. "If you're looking for a textbook of your very own there's probably a few in the library." Cordelia told her as they left the class.  
  
"I'll stop by there at lunch." Buffy told her with a fake smile as she waved a quick goodbye and escaped the girls presence. The Slayer knew she was being rash on her, from what she'd heard, Cordelia had actually matured in LA. What irritated Buffy though, was that Angel had confessed to her that he and Cordelia had had a *thing* that had actually evolved into nothing. But the fact that Angel had been infatuated with her. . . Buffy shook her head.  
  
*And while all this was happening you were having mind blowing sex with Spike.* The nasty part of her mind reminded her.  
  
But this a new life, I can fix it, all of it. She told herself and walked into her next class as the bell sounded through the halls.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Lunch came quickly, and Buffy ran out of her seat with the sound of the bell. She knew she should be heading straight to the library, but more of her wanted to introduce herself to Willow. Buffy let herself be carried by the sea of students moving toward the quad, and as she entered the sun drenched area, her attention was caught by a green dress worn by a red head.  
  
"Willow!" She called out, waving toward the girl.  
  
Willow looked up to meet the beautiful blonde and became nervous. "Huh? I-I mean, hi! Uh, did you want me to move?"  
  
"No, I uh. . ." Buffy trailed, trying to think of something to say that would make this seem like a *chance* meeting. "Tutoring, you tutor, right?"  
  
Willow brightened up at the comment and watched as Buffy sat beside her. "Yeah, that's me, tutor girl, I could *totally* help you out! Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library?" She smiled.  
  
"Beyond good, I need to talk to the librarian anyway." The Slayer stated, watching the a nerdy Willow grin. It was hard to believe that someday she would handle the power to destroy the world, and Buffy nearly laughed at the thought compared to the sight in front of her. The two really did not mesh.  
  
A tall boy with a painfully bright orange shirt came to stand in front of them, and feeling something behind her, Buffy turned to see Xander sitting on the wall the two girls leaned against.  
  
"Hey." The boy in front of them said, dropping his bag.  
  
Xander tossed his bag to the boy. "You guys busy? Are we interrupting? We're interrupting." He clarified for himself.  
  
"Hey." Buffy said as Willow chorused her own hello. Where did she know this guy from. . .  
  
"Buffy, this is Jesse and that's Xander." Willow told her plainly.  
  
"Oh, me and Buffy go waaay back, old friends, very close. Then there's that period of estrangement where I think we were both growing as people, but now here we are, like old times, I'm quite moved." Xander babbled on as Buffy watched Jesse.  
  
*What happened to you. . . * she thought. *Why can't I remember?*  
  
"Is it me, or are you turning into a bibbling idiot?" Jesse asked in reference to Xanders almost incoherent speech. It brought Buffy's attention back to reality.  
  
Xander blushed and averted the Slayer's smirking eyes. "No, it's, uh, it's not you." An uneasy silence fell over them, and Buffy felt Willow shift next to her. She knew that the red head was in love with Xander at this particular moment in time, and she also knew that Xander would embarrass himself to no end in trying to go out with Buffy. "So what do you do for fun, what do you like, what do you look for in a man, let's hear it." Xander continued as though nothing had happened.  
  
"If you have any dark, painful secrets you'd like us to publish?" Jesse added, leaning in closer to her.  
  
"Why don't we drive the conversation to something that's less Buffy centric." The Slayer stated awkwardly, trying to get more information on Jesse without seeming obvious.  
  
Xander hopped down from the wall and came to stand by Jesse. "Well, not much goes on in a one Starbucks town like Sunnydale. You're pretty big news."  
  
Buffy applauded herself. "Oh goody." Her gaze wandered to Cordelia as she pushed her way through the crowed and interrupted their conversation.  
  
"Are these guys bothering you?" She asked, eyeing all three of them as though they were alien creatures.  
  
The Slayer shrugged and stole a grin to Willow. "Only in the sense that we're talking."  
  
"She's not hanging out with us." The red head said quickly, trying to save the reputation of her potential friend.  
  
Buffy shot Willow a confused glance. She had forgotten how self conscious the soon to be witch was about her image.  
  
"Hey! Cordelia!" Jesse came to stand a little to closely to the popular girl.  
  
Cordelia scoffed at him. "Oh, please!" She returned her attention back to Buffy, ignoring the boy. "I don't mean to interrupt your downward mobility, but I just wanted to tell you that you won't be meeting Coach Foster, the woman with the chest hair, because gym was canceled due to the *extreme* dead guy in the locker."  
  
The Slayer nearly jumped at that. "Shit, I forgot about that. . ." She muttered under her breath, gathering her stuff to leave.  
  
"What, you knew there was going to be a dead guy?" Cordelia asked tauntingly, Buffy was surprised that the girl had heard her.  
  
"I got to go." She said hurriedly, sliding her bag onto her shoulder. "I'll catch up with you guys later." The Slayer pushed herself away and toward the library. The two boys watched her walk away while Willow thought.  
  
"What's her child hood drama?" Cordelia asked no one, before turning on her heel and heading back toward her clique.  
  
Catching a quick glimpse of Buffy disappear into the hallway, Willow stood and rushed to follow her. Xander shrugged to Jesse, and the two sat down to enjoy lunch.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"He's not a vampire!" Buffy exclaimed as she pushed open the doors and saw Giles sitting at the desk, a book in front of him. "The boy, he wasn't turned."  
  
The Watcher closed the book and stood. "You sure?"  
  
"Course." Buffy pulled a chair out and sat in it, putting her legs on the table. "You find anything on The Harvest?"  
  
Giles shook his head as if to clear it. "Actually. . . yes. I've been researching. It seems to be some sort of preordained massacre. Rivers of blood, Hell on Earth, quite charmless. I'm a bit fuzzy, however, on the details."  
  
The Slayer smiled and moved her arms as if to ready herself. "Good, yeah, it's all coming back now. Big strong ugly vampire at the Bronze, and strong, did I mention strong? He's the head of it, think I can dust him before the Harvest actually starts." Buffy swung her legs off the table and leaned forward, thinking. "Oh my god, Jesse dies!"  
  
"What?" Giles asked, confused at his new charges attitude and manner. Quite honestly, he was beyond confused and into unknown territory. He never did understand high school girls.  
  
"Jesse, he dies." Buffy stood quickly. "Oh god. . . Darla, Darla kills him!" She begun to pace. "I hate Darla! Do you know that?" It was a question but she didn't give the Watcher a chance to explain, he wasn't sure if he could. "First she dies, and that's all fine and dandy, but then she gets brought back life *and* sleeps with Angel! They have a kid, did you know that? A kid!" Buffy fumed. When Willow had returned from LA, she had filled Buffy in on Angel's activities, including his love life. *Not that it matters anymore. . .* She thought with a wicked grin, *I can change all of that.*  
  
Giles stared at her as she stopped her rant. "What on earth are you talking about? How do you know all of this?"  
  
Buffy sheepishly grinned as the bell rang, saving her from having the explain at the moment. She had already decided she would let Giles know about the time traveling brigade, she just wasn't sure how to tell him just yet. "I'll fill you in later, right now I got to get to class, meet me at the Bronze tonight, nine-ish." With that she rushed out the door. The Watcher looked on as his Slayer left through the swinging doors, shook his head, and cleaned his glasses.  
  
The Slayer came out of the library to find herself face to face with Willow.  
  
"Hi." Buffy said breathlessly.  
  
"Hey." Willow smiled, they started to walk down the hall. "I know this is going to sound really weird coming from someone you barely know, but. . . me and Xander and Jesse are going to the Bronze tonight, it's the local hangout, and I was wondering if you-"  
  
"I'd love to." Buffy finished for her.  
  
Willow's smile grew wider. "Great, I'll tell the guys, see you at 8? You know the way?"  
  
The Slayer nodded. "Yeah, I'll find it."  
  
Excited, the red head turned into her class, elated at having a new friend.  
  
Buffy shared a similar emotion as she went to her next room until she realized something. Willow and Jesse were both picked up by vampires tonight. . . well, she'd just have to change that, wouldn't she? Wasn't that what this whole thing was about?  
  
She'd been sent back to change the future, and tonight, that's what she was going to do.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy felt the darkness close in around her as she walked the silent streets toward the Bronze. The Slayer tried to sort out what she was going to do. She had to keep a look out for Darla and the other vamp who would be at the club tonight, plus she had friendships to cement with Willow and Xander, along with keeping Jesse alive long enough to *become* a friend. After all of that, she still had to explain to Giles her little bit about knowing everything that was going to happen.  
  
She brushed a hand through her hair. Buffy wasn't accustomed to the length of it, added the fact that she still had bangs took a little getting used to her. She felt heavier since she had lost so much weight after coming back the second time from deaths embrace and she made a mental note that her condition was healthy, even if it did feel awkward.  
  
Something brushed up her spine as she continued toward the Bronze. A sense of the undead coming closer. Withdrawing a stake from her chest pocket, she waited until the demon was on top of her before turning, letting the stake come at chest point before looking into it's face.  
  
"Is there a problem ma'am?" He asked in a cool voice, letting a hand go over hers in a motion to bring down the weapon.  
  
Buffy was to stunned to move. "I, uh, hi." She stammered out, her voice caught at seeing her lover. . . her soon to be lover, hopefully. Regretfully, she backed away, there was to much of her that wanted to wrap her arms around him, and that would just be coming on a bit to strong for their 'first' meeting.  
  
"Don't worry, I don't bite." He told her, misinterpreting the reasons for her movement. "Truth is, I thought you'd be taller, or bigger muscles and all that. You're pretty spry, though." He continued as though he knew the reason the earth turned.  
  
Buffy grinned, that took him by surprised. "You here to help me?" She asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.  
  
"If your willing to take it." He said calmly.  
  
The Slayer nodded and started toward the club again. She felt him come up beside her, and unwillingly she shivered.  
  
"Two vampires are at the club tonight, you know one of them." She filled him in, hearing the hints of music carry in on the wind. "Very, very well."  
  
Angel looked at her strangely. "Darla." He sighed.  
  
"Yeah." Buffy stopped and turned to him. "I'm meeting up with some people, just watch the crowd. If you see a vampire take someone into the night, make a signal."  
  
"What kind of signal?"  
  
The Slayer shrugged and stepped into the lights of the club. "Make one up."  
  
She was surprised that he grabbed her back into the shadows. Buffy stumbled back toward him a little to close she found her face very near to his. . .  
  
"Here." He softly pushed her way, and placed a steel box into her hands. "Take it, you'll need it."  
  
Buffy grinned, and placed the gift in her pocket. "Thanks." With that she walked back into the scene of the club.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Buffy!" Willow called, waving the blonde over through the mass of teenagers. The Slayer came to sit down beside the red head. "Your late." She clarified, taking a sip of her sprite.  
  
Buffy pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "Sorry, got lost." She took a seat next to Willow and noticed Xander heading over.  
  
"Hey, it's my two favorite girls." Xander said, sliding into the seat next to Buffy. "Your late."  
  
"Yeah, I already got the memo." Buffy and Willow giggled.  
  
The Slayer looked around, and saw Jesse talking to a blonde who sat in a hanging chair, talking in a seductive voice. Her eyes traveled around to find Angel, lurking in the shadows, his gaze intense on the same women. Buffy sighed, here was Darla. Angel acknowledged that they had both seen the vampire with a slight nod. The Slayer drew her attention back to her friends.  
  
"I'm going to say hi to Jesse, be right back." She told the two, picking herself up and walking with the music to where Jesse flirted with the vampire. Darla turned before Jesse caught sight of Buffy.  
  
"Buffy hey." The tall boy grinned at her as the vampire watched with annoyed eyes. "Buffy, Darla." He said, introducing them. "Buffy just moved here." He told the older blonde.  
  
"Really." Darla said in a light tone that made Buffy shiver.  
  
A silence descended them and Buffy felt eyes on her. She didn't need to turn to see who it was. "I better be going, see you around Jesse, nice to meet you Darla." The Slayer said, disappearing back into the crowd. She let the mass of people take her to Angel and slid up beside him.  
  
"There's another vampire here." She whispered. "I just don't know where."  
  
Angel nodded. "I'll find him." He paused as they watched Darla rise and exit the club, Jesse faithfully following. "You take care of her."  
  
Buffy didn't bother to nod, just broke away from the shadows and trailed the steps of the vampire and human.  
  
Willow and Xander watched as Buffy moved purposely out of the Bronze.  
  
"I don't think she likes us." Xander declared glumly.  
  
Willow shrugged. "I don't know, she seems nice enough." The red head rose and started in the same direction to where Buffy had gone.  
  
Xander scrambled to her side. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Following her." Willow said simply.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Darla picked up the boy because he had the same build as Angelus. Of course, he reeked of humanity and those dopey pick up lines he had used were nothing like the cruel tongue of her lost demon. The Master would be pleased with this offering though, he was young, strong, and a virgin.  
  
Jesse followed without complaint our of the Bronze, trailing the beautiful women as she led him into the night. He could never score with the queen that was Cordelia, but he had just found himself a goddess.  
  
They pair walked out of earshot of the club just as Darla begun to feel the edge of bloodlust build up. It gnawed at her stomach and with the boy at her side as a willing candidate for her dinner. . . the Master could wait. Darla slipped into game face, her features shadowed by the night. He stopped and she could hear his heart begun to race. She pressed a light kiss on his lips and then brought her fangs down to his neck, scraping the skin and feeling the blood quicken. . .  
  
"That's my almost friend you going to eat."  
  
Darla heard the words, but didn't have time to respond before she was hit over the head. The vampire fell to the ground and Jesse looked around widely, meeting Buffy's eyes.  
  
"Huh?" He asked dumbly.  
  
Buffy didn't have time to explain to him as Darla had already recovered and had jumped back up, neon eyes glinting in the light. The Slayer pushed Jesse away and blocked a punch the vampire threw. Buffy quickly side kicked the demon and fumbled for the stake in her chest pocket. . .  
  
"Damn." She breathed, dodging a punch. She had dropped the stake when first meeting up with Angel and was now left without any weapons.  
  
Buffy noticed in faint interest as they traded blows that Darla wasn't half as strong as she remembered. Of maybe Buffy's skills had just improved dramatically over the years. Just as she was about to resort to a hand made stake from the trash they fought around, she heard footsteps and her name.  
  
"Buffy!" Willow shrieked, causing both fighters to turn their attention on the red head. Jesse edged his way to his friends, making sure not to gain the attention of the vampire.  
  
The two circled each other, neither making a first move.  
  
"Your strong." Darla noted.  
  
"I'm the Slayer." Buffy gave a half smile.  
  
The vampire nodded, her fangs glinting in the faint light. "Makes things interesting." With that she attacked, landing a punch on Buffy's cheek. Recovering quickly, the Slayer flipped backwards, using her speed to get the upper hand.  
  
"Get back demon!" Giles stumbled into sight, a cross held out in his hand, and a stake held limply at his side.  
  
Darla growled at the crucifix and locked eyes with Buffy. "We'll meet again."  
  
"Count on it." Buffy smiled and watched as the vampire ran into the night.  
  
The Slayer gave a smile of thanks to her Watcher, and turned to face the three huddled teens. She grasped for words.  
  
"I can just be the first to say." Xander broke through the chilled air. "What the hell was that?"  
  
Giles came closer to them. "It was. . . well. . . there was a. . ."  
  
"Vampires." Buffy told the three. "Let's go to the library, we'll explain there."  
  
Willow gave an uneasy nod and glanced toward Jesse. "Who's that?" She asked, referring in Buffy's direction.  
  
Both Slayer and Watcher turned to see a semi battered Angel. "Hi." He said, looking around. "This a bad time?" He directed the question at Buffy.  
  
"No. . ." Buffy sighed. "Look, we'll fill you in."  
  
Jesse shrugged at the sight in front of him. A blonde girl breathing heavily from a fight with a demon, a librarian holding wooden weapons, and a dark man who seemed to blend with the night. Not to mention his two best friends shaken beside him. "Okay, let's go." He said, Sunnydale had always been a strange town. 


	3. Chapter Two: The Harvest

The Harvest  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N: I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who reviewed. I really didn't expect this much of interest for the project. A lot of you have voiced that you have worries that I might abandon this piece because of the scope of it (a chapter for each episode to be precise). And I got to say that I agree with you. I will do my best to complete this story, and don't forget, the more reviews the more incentive there is to write!  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Jesse, Willow and Xander had piled into Giles's car, still jittery from the nights events. There wasn't enough room for either Buffy or the mysterious stranger who the Watcher eyed with keen interest, and slight fear. He didn't trust the dark man, but Buffy seemed quite intent on having him around, and what was that saying about always trusting a Slayer's instincts?  
  
"Me and Angel will walk." Buffy told Giles as he stepped into the car. "Don't. . . tell them anything until I get there."  
  
The Watcher gave a wry smile and glanced toward the three teenagers huddled in the back. "Uncomfortable silences are always fun." He muttered and slid into the front seat. Buffy watched as the head lights bit into the darkness, and the car roared to life, driving into the night and out of even her Slayer vision.  
  
"How did you know my names Angel?" The vampire asked, gaining her attention. He had stood silently beside her after the fight, his eyes watching the scenery rather then the humans.  
  
"Lucky guess?" She let her gaze wander to his. ". . . or not." Buffy said lamely at his unbelieving look.  
  
They started a slow walk past the still raging sounds of the Bronze until there silence blended in with the environment. "Do you really want to know why I know your name? Or how I knew Darla was going to be here tonight?"  
  
He gave her a glance. "Thought it was a lucky guess."  
  
The Slayer let out a small laugh that came out more like a sigh. "What if I told you that I know what happens to you five, six years from now?"  
  
"I'd say your one hell of a Slayer." Angel said in a tone that Buffy hadn't hear from him in a while. "But I wouldn't believe you."  
  
Buffy nodded and drew her eyes away from him. "Your an ensouled vampire." She stated awkwardly. He didn't respond. "You were sired by Darla, you in turn sired Drusilla and she sired Spike. The four of you plagued Europe until a group of gypsies cast a spell, restoring your soul."  
  
"How do you know that?" No emotion seeped into his voice.  
  
Buffy drew a hand through her hair, amazed at how short it was. "I'm from the future. . ." She wasn't sure how to follow up on that. "Seven years from the future."  
  
"How'd you get sent back?" Again, there was no interest in his voice, just acknowledgment.  
  
"The Powers That Be. . . they weren't exactly pleased with how I handled my life. Ends up it's my fault I unleashed the First Evil onto the world."  
  
He gave her a first glance that actually showed something. "Well that's a feat."  
  
"I've always been an overachiever." She told him with a smile, he returned the gesture as they turned onto a next street.  
  
He took in what she had told him and looked into the stars. "Why are you telling me this." He said finally. "Shouldn't this be something you tell a Watcher, or your friends? Definitely not a vampire you just met."  
  
"Well. . . we were close." The Slayer bit her lower lip, afraid of what he would read into. "And I haven't had a chance to tell Giles yet, and I'm not telling Willow or Xander." She finished in a large breath.  
  
Angel's brows furrowed. "Close?" He echoed.  
  
"Uh, yeah." Buffy inwardly cursed at herself. "You popped up and gave me creepy heads up on the latest creature feature, and then left." Happy with her half truth, she continued. "Your the one who told me I was going to die."  
  
The vampire shook his head in confusion. When Whistler had first come to him with the prospect of helping out the Slayer, getting out of his rut in life, he had mentioned that the Powers had been displeased with her so far, and were trying over. When Angel had asked what he meant, the messenger had changed the subject.  
  
"You die?" He asked slowly.  
  
Buffy smiled shyly. "Twice."  
  
He didn't say anything and they walked again without conversation. It slowly dawned on Buffy that her social dynamics may not work out the same as they had in her past try at this life. Maybe Angel wouldn't fall in lover with her, maybe Giles would never look at her beyond being a Slayer, maybe Willow and Xander wouldn't be the friends she had come to know. . .  
  
"So what happens to me?" Angel asked, breaking her out of thought.  
  
"What?" Buffy looked up at him.  
  
The vampire stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You say your from the future, so what will I be doing?" He smiled again.  
  
*You mean aside from having a son?* She thought tauntingly to herself. "You become head of an evil law firm." Buffy said, recalling the conversation she had had with Angel after the last encounter with the First. Those had been his exact words. . .  
  
"Big of me." Angel said to himself, again confused at the girl. "Anything else I might be interested in?"  
  
Buffy smiled to herself. "Your not ready to know just yet."  
  
"Is that so?" Angel nearly laughed and met her eyes.  
  
The Slayer gave a cocky smile and looked ahead of her. They had arrived at the high school somehow without either noticing. "If your good, I'll tell you later."  
  
Angel nodded and they headed up the steps and to the library. As confused as he was with the beautiful blonde, he couldn't wait to start a new life at her side. She really had made an impression.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy entered the library with Angel at her side. Willow sat at a computer that looked as if it didn't get much use. Her face was determined as though she was on the brink of something. Xander was lying on his back on the table, a large text held above him as he flipped through the pages, he wasn't reading it. The Slayer watched as Giles came out of the back room, a stack of books in his hand and Jesse following behind him with what looked like more of the same.  
  
"Hello Buffy." Her Watcher said, setting his burden on the table beside Xander's feet. Jesse followed the librarians example, but as he put the books down, the pile begun to topple over and he scrambled to save them from falling to the floor. Xander looked up and laughed at his friend, before seeing Buffy.  
  
"Buffy!" He exclaimed and hopped off the table, not bothering to help Jesse. "How you doing?"  
  
The blonde cast a look at Giles. "Did you tell them?"  
  
Giles shook his head. "I was waiting for you." He took a breath and cleaned his glasses in one known movement. "Buffy, you can't just be telling your secrete to everyone you come across, and slaying right in front of three students?" He was whispering, but everyone in the room was staring at the Watcher, and could hear every word.  
  
"I found out about The Harvest." Willow said nervously. "It starts tomorrow night."  
  
Buffy rose a eyebrow at her suddenly embarrassed Watcher. "Your telling *me* to be more secretive?"  
  
"She. . . the girl knew how to use that bloody machine and there isn't much in ways of text." Giles finally said.  
  
Jesse had finished recovering the books and placed them carefully on the table. "Someone mind filling us in on the what happened at the Bronze?"  
  
"Yeah, and what exactly is a hellmouth?" Xander pointed toward the book. "Because if I'm reading it right, which I'm probably not, were living right on to of it."  
  
Buffy took in an exasperated breath. "You had them researching and they don't even know what they saw tonight!"  
  
The Watcher replaced his glasses and sighed. "Thank you, Willow, Xander, Jesse." He looked at each. "For helping. Buffy's right, you all have a right to know what you witnessed tonight."  
  
The Slayer moved to the check out counter and propped herself up on it. She noticed in interest that Angel came to stand by her side. "You might want to sit down." She told Jesse and Xander. "This may take a while."  
  
Giles ignored the girls comments. "This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their... their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures..."  
  
"And vampires." Buffy added, kicking her feet against the counter.  
  
"Okay, this is where I have a problem. See, because we're talking about vampires. We're having a *talk* with vampires in it." Xander complained, his voice adopting a nervous tone.  
  
"Isn't that what we saw tonight?" Willow asked, twirling a strand of red hair in her finger.  
  
Jesse slightly shuddered as he drew out a chair to sit on. "Whatever they were, they were demons, right?"  
  
"The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return." Giles continued as though he hadn't been interrupted.  
  
Jesse looked around. "So why is Buffy intentionally seeking them out?"  
  
"Because she is the Slayer." Giles said.  
  
Xander sat next to his friend and took in a large breath. "And that would be a what?"  
  
"For as long as there have been vampires, there's been the Slayer. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One." Giles explained and glanced back at Buffy who gave him a large grin and a thumbs up.  
  
"All right. The Slayer hunts vampires, Buffy is a Slayer, don't tell anyone. Well, I think that's all the vampire information you need." The Watcher let out begrudgingly.  
  
An awkward silence fell over the room. "Hey, Wills, do you have Dugan for math?"  
  
Willow looked from the screen she had started to scan again. "Uh. . . yeah?"  
  
"What was the homework?" Buffy asked sheepishly. Angel and Giles were taken back by the sudden change of subject.  
  
"Pages 135-139, evens only." The red head told her with a smile.  
  
Buffy checked her watch and hopped off the counter. "I better get going." She said, wrapping her jacket around her. "Uh, Giles can I talk to you, alone?"  
  
The Watcher looked around and nodded. "Actually, you should all be heading home."  
  
Angel watched passively as the three teenagers got up and headed toward the door. The two boys left first after giving Buffy awkward hugs that the Slayer had to initiate, Willow came up to her afterward and received an embrace of her own. "I'll call you later." She told the red head, and it was hard to miss the excitement Willow held by having the new friend.  
  
"I should be heading back." Angel whispered into Buffy's ear after the teenagers had left. Buffy nodded, and had to hang back from giving him a hug as well. The vampire left the library in a few long strides.  
  
Buffy smiled to her Watcher in the now empty room.  
  
"This has been completely unorthodox!" He exclaimed before she could say anything. "Everything you've done since I met you has been against the books-"  
  
The Slayer didn't give him time to finish his rant. "I have to tell you something." She said quietly, almost painfully.  
  
Giles kept silence, but Buffy could see slight anger in his eyes. "It may take a while." She added.  
  
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Well?" He asked, eyeing her over after a few moments had passed.  
  
Buffy took in a large breath, preparing to tell her Watcher everything, and all that that implied.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
The Slayer let her Watcher take in what she had said. The overview had been brief, and barely any detail had been bothered in the description. She had told him that she was from the future, she was here to redo the past, and she mentioned the Big Bads. Careful to slip Acathla's name for Angelus's, and decided against mentioning Willows at all.  
  
"And your here to make sure the First Evil does not enter this realm, correct?" Giles asked tiredly, cleaning his glasses for the umpteenth time that night.  
  
Buffy nodded.  
  
"And does anyone else know that your. . ."  
  
"Not from this time?" She finished for him. "Just Angel."  
  
Giles slid his spectacles back on. "This Angel. . . you sure we can trust him?"  
  
"With my life." She answered simply as her eyes caught the time on the clock. "Look, I really got to go, moms probably worried about me. I'll stop by before school." Buffy picked up her jacket she had taken off and slung it over her shoulder. "Don't forget, The Harvest is tomorrow!" The Slayer called out as she disappeared into the dimly lit hall and out of sight.  
  
Giles slid off his glasses one more time. "No, however could I."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
The next day dawned bright, and Buffy jumped out of bed as her alarm went off. The prophecy was haunting her dreams, and she was sick of it. What did whoever that sent these dreams think he was helping? She knew how the world played out, prophecies and power were the only things that could influence the outcome of the future.  
  
Well, that and her.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"So what's the deal with Angel?" Willow asked as the two climbed the stairs toward Sunnydale High school.  
  
Buffy let out a grin, more out of the sound of the name then for her friends benefit. "He's pretty cute, don't you think?"  
  
"He's damn hot!" Willow exclaimed, as they reached the thong of people.  
  
The Slayer stared. "Willow!"  
  
"What, I do have eyes you know." The red head laughed. "So, you like him then?"  
  
"Maybe just a little. . ." Buffy smiled as she swayed a bit in thought, Willow pushed her back to reality. "OK, a lot."  
  
"Get out." Willow told her friend jokingly.  
  
Not wanting to stay on the subject of Angel, Buffy quickly gave Willow something else to think about. "What's the deal with you and Xander?" She asked innocently enough as they reached the hall.  
  
"We used to go out." The nerd said with a sigh, her humor leaving. "But then he stole my barbie."  
  
Buffy laughed. "Kindergarten romance I take it?"  
  
Willow nodded solemnly. "I don't date a whole lot actually."  
  
"You should ask Xander out." The Slayer said decisively. "That is. . . unless you don't want to." She finished quickly after getting a look from Willow.  
  
"I. . . I could never. . . him and Jesse are obsessed with you at the moment." Willow told her lamely and a hint of regret held in her voice.  
  
Buffy felt embarrassed, she had almost forgotten the infatuation Xander had had with her. "If it makes you feel any better, there just friends to me." She grinned awkwardly.  
  
"Oh, I know. I like this obsession of his way better then the others. . . because he doesn't have a chance with you. . . right?" She ended the statement on an uneasy note.  
  
"Totally right, I'm into Mr. tall, dark and broody, remember?"  
  
The two laughed as they entered the library.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy walked slowly toward Angels home, careful to keep her self hidden against the night, she had no intention of spilling her strength on fledglings when she had bigger fish to fry. . . er, stronger vampires to dust.  
  
Her thoughts turned to the conversation in the library earlier that day. Willow and her had arrived to find Jesse, Xander and Giles already waiting. They had discussed last night, an overdue book of Willows, the upcoming Harvest, and who would help Buffy. The Slayer clearly told them all that she would take Angel along for help, she wasn't prepared to risk anyone else.  
  
Jesse and Xander had wailed, ready to show off their bravery against the demons in front of Buffy. The Slayer was surprised at their stupidity while they were still under raging hormones, and expected it to wear off once they encountered a few more vampires. Giles, still shaken from what she had told him the night before, let her decide on her own. It wasn't as if she was child after all, just a 22 year old stuck in a 16 year olds body. She did have a suspicion however that all four of them would meet her at the Bronze, not that she could do anything to stop them.  
  
Buffy arrived at Angels, and let herself in. The lamps were dimmed, casting shadows against the walls.  
  
"Hello, Angel. . . you here?" She stepped in cautiously. Her eyes feel upon the silver chain he always wore that was sprawled on an end table. It glinted in the faint light, and Buffy trailed the 'A' with her index finger.  
  
*It's real silver* She realized suddenly, and her hand went to the cross on her neck, the one he had given her. *I suppose this is too. . .* Her thoughts turned as she let her hand hover above the necklace. *Whatever happened to you?* Her mind asked her from her past life. After graduation she had locked the necklace away in her jewelry case, not wanting to be reminded of her lost love. She had taken it out again after a sex session with Spike, and feeling more emotion from the necklace then the intimacy with the other vampire, she had wept.  
  
"Buffy." The word made her jump as Angel stepped out of the other room. His skin glistened with a light sheen of water as he dried out his hair with a towel. Dark jeans hugged his hips, and he walked over to her shirtless. "What are you doing here?"  
  
The Slayer forced her eyes away from the unclothed chest and became mesmerized with the statue behind him. "Harvest, tonight, I was wondering if you wanted to help."  
  
Angel met her eyes, letting the towel hang limply in his hands. "I. . . I don't know." He let the last of it come out weak.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
He ran a hand through his hair. "Because I'm afraid."  
  
The Slayer met his gaze and walked up to him until she had too look up to see the drowning pools of chocolate that were his eyes. "Of what?"  
  
Angel shook his head and stepped away, his hand going to a shirt that hung over the couch. "My past." He finally said, slipping on the T shirt, not having the energy to button it as his pained look met Buffy's.  
  
"Your past?" The Slayer echoed.  
  
"You don't know what I've done." The vampire told her slowly, his fingers fumbling for the button while his gaze was directed away from her. "What I'm still capable of doing."  
  
Buffy came up him and lightly took his hands away from the shirt, fastening the material herself as he looked on helplessly. "I know exactly what you've done." She stepped away too see his eyes. "Because you've done it all to me."  
  
The loss she saw in Angel's eyes nearly overpowered her. "Your afraid that seeing your past will bring out the demon again." She clarified for both him and herself. "It won't, your stronger then that."  
  
"I'm afraid it'll kill me." His arm stretched out past her to grab the chain, yet he didn't slide it on as he spoke his defeat.  
  
"It won't." The Slayer kept her gaze steady on him.  
  
"How can you be so sure?" He asked with almost anger in his voice as he pulled the chain over his head and tucked it under the shirt.  
  
Buffy let out a sigh. "Because I'm reliving my past, and so far I'm OK." She continued. "It's not easy, nothing in lives ever was, but it's worth it."  
  
Angel let his eyes wander to the floor. "All right." He said at last, bringing his eyes back up.  
  
The Slayer grinned, and the vampire let his lips curl into something resembled a smile. She nodded, and they headed toward the door and into the darkness of their fight.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
They arrived at the Bronze to see the three teenagers and Giles standing outside the club, waiting her arrival.  
  
"Your late." The Watcher told her, his eyes taking a glance toward his wristwatch as both her and Angel stepped into the light.  
  
Buffy shrugged off their joining her, although she felt irritated at their actions. She should have known better then to think that Giles would trust her, technically, he barely even *knew* her.  
  
"Hey Willow." The Slayer went over to the red head who was nervously holding a wooden cross.  
  
The girl smiled and shifted her weight on her feet. She was jumpy, then again, this was her first official slayage outing. "Hey," She took in a shaky breath. "Are we waiting for something?"  
  
"For them." It was Angel who it said determinedly, it seemed as though her pep talk had hit home and Buffy grinned.  
  
The Slayer cast a glance toward Jesse and Xander who hung back in the half light. They cast somewhat nasty glares at the vampire, then again, she was standing somewhat close to him. . . Deciding that this time over it would be much easier if Xander didn't have a burning hatred toward Angel, she edged back.  
  
"Do you know the mark of which the vessel wears?" Giles voice had turned scholarly.  
  
Buffy turned. "What?"  
  
"The vessel." He repeated, somewhat annoyed. "Please tell me you know what I'm talking about."  
  
"Big strong ugly vamp." Buffy said. "That's all I need to know."  
  
The Watcher sighed, and let his eyes wander to what he expected to be an empty lot. "I suppose they've arrived." He told them, referring to the group of figures that were making their way told them.  
  
The Slayer nodded, and drew a stake out of her pocket, trying to see in the dim light which one was the vessel.  
  
"We're here for you Buff." Xander supplied, grasping a stake himself.  
  
She flashed both boys a grin. "Thanks, but I think me and Angel can handle this." Seeing a flash of almost jealous zeal flash through their eyes, she covered. "But if he falls, you guys are backup." Buffy didn't need to look out Angel to tell her she didn't mean it, he already knew.  
  
They waited impatiently for the vampires to descend them, and the only thought crossing Buffy's mind was that she hoped to the powers that Angel wouldn't change to his demonic face with the still new scoobies standing right there.  
  
"Angelus!" Darla was the first to greet them, her voice came out a silky pure against the night. "Siding with the Slayer now? This is low, even for you."  
  
The souled vampire didn't respond.  
  
From behind the blonde demon, a large vampire brought himself into the light. His features seemed overstated, and his eyes gleamed with sadism. Buffy didn't give him time to register her presence. If his looks hadn't jogged her memory, the tall tell sign painted on his forehead was proof enough, this was the vessel.  
  
The Slayer rushed at him, ducking as he swung hard at her to come up so close that he had no way of attacking. She punched him the nose and was surprised as her feet were side swiped from under her. Buffy fell to the floor, her stake scattering away from her. She mentally cursed at the her clumsiness in her fight. She wasn't used to her body at this age, and for a fight of this size, she needed to know how to use all of her weapons. The vampire came out top off her, straddling her hips to the floor with his body mass.  
  
"The master will walk!" He declared as though he had won the fight. Buffy took the moment as he looked into her eyes, trying to strike fear into her she supposed, to pick up her leg and extend it fully, kicking him hard in the head. The vampire toppled forward, and Buffy followed his momentum so that she was on top this time.  
  
She positioned the stake at his heart and grinned evilly. "Yeah, on your dust." With that, she let the weapon penetrate his skin, and stood up before he crumpled before her.  
  
Buffy hadn't realized that as she fought, both vampires and humans had watched in silence. What looked like a young fledging was the first to back into the night, he was followed by the rest until the only one who hadn't disappeared into the dark was Darla.  
  
She let out a low animalistic growl, her eyes locked on Angels. He nodded toward her, if it was dismissal or an acknowledgment, Buffy didn't know, but the female vampire followed the others into the shadows without a second glance.  
  
The Slayer turned toward the others as the demonic threat disappeared.  
  
"Well that went well." Jesse said in a tight voice.  
  
"Yeah." Xander agreed, a little shaken at the sight. "Who's up for pizza?"  
  
"I am!" Willow voiced a little to eagerly.  
  
Buffy pondered that for their second demonic encounter, they were handling it pretty damn well. "Sounds good, Giles can buy."  
  
"What?" The Watcher asked in disbelief, his name forcing him back to the reality he had drifted off to.  
  
Buffy and Willow started off away from the Bronze, leaving their weapons behind on the darkened floor. "I'm thinking mushrooms and pepperoni."  
  
"You know, they have the cheese baked right into the crust." Xander said, catching up to them.  
  
"Amazing." Jesse laughed.  
  
The Watcher just stared at the four teenagers. "The earth is doomed." He told himself decidedly starting a slow walk toward them.  
  
Angel smiled to himself. "I'll be damned." He said when they had all drifted out of earshot. "She did it." 


	4. Chapter Three: The Witch

The Witch  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N: Personally, I feel that in the last two chapters (Welcome to the Hellmouth, The Harvest) I tried to cram more information then I was willing to write. Rereading these two over, there's a sense of them being rushed and jumbled. A lot of what makes Buffy such an amazing show, is the witty and clever dialogue, the balance between a normal life and the demonic undertones. I've been trying to carry over this same essence into the this fandom, but I'm not sure if it's working. The next few chapters will be shorter, mainly because I got the introductions out of the way. And just a note, I haven't seen season 1 in a long time, so I'm trying to write each chapter corresponding with when the episode is aired on FX. Due to my busy summer schedule (groan) I may miss a few. I apologize in advance if certain chapter don't read the same as others.  
  
I am trying to focus on the character changes due to Buffy's attitude change and the different turn of events. This will be Giles centric.  
  
Don't forget to review!  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"It's an evil Freaky Friday." Buffy slammed the doors open to the library, and was surprised to find Giles helping a boy find a book.  
  
"What?" The Watcher asked, both annoyed at her intrusion and confused at what she was saying.  
  
Buffy cast an irritated glare at the student before sitting herself down at the table, waiting for him to leave.  
  
"Brave New World is over here." Giles directed the boy toward the science fiction section. "Who's class did you say it was for?"  
  
"Mr. Best." The boy answered before disappearing into the shadows of the bookshelves.  
  
Giles nodded, and Buffy sighed. The lives of Cheerleaders were at stake here and he was helping a student find a book! What kind of Watcher did he think he was? Buffy realized that she was being childish, and rationalized that going back to high school was expected to have more consequences then merely having to start the battle over acne all over again.  
  
The Slayer watched nonchalantly as the boy checked out the book, thanked the librarian and headed toward the door, sending a glance toward Buffy as he left. As the student left through the push doors, Buffy stared awkwardly after him. That had been Holden, the physiologist/karate master who she had battled, the one who had been sired by a souled Spike. Buffy shivered.  
  
"Yes." The Watcher asked, jolting Buffy back to the real world. "What were you saying about Friday?"  
  
Buffy decided to let Holden pass, a time might come when she would have to deal with him, but now she had Amy Madison to keep her thoughts on. "There's cheerleading tryouts coming up, and Amy Madison's mom is going to kill off the competition."  
  
"And the tryouts… are on Friday?" Giles said a bit lost.  
  
The Slayer shook her head. "No! In Freaky Friday the mom and daughter switch places to teach them a valuable lesson. . . but that's not what's going on."  
  
"So nothings happening on Friday then?"  
  
"Forget I said anything, lets start over." Buffy breathed out a sigh, she had forgotten that her witty media references had been lost on the Watcher. "Cheerleading tryouts are tomorrow. Amy Madison's mom has switched places with her daughter so that she can relive her glory days." She spelled it out for him.  
  
Giles picked up a book from the counter and walked over to a shelf, placing it on top. "So what does this have to do with Friday?"  
  
"Nothing!" Buffy cried, exasperated. She was about to give up and try to do it on her own, when Willow and Xander walked in.  
  
"Buff!" Xander said, making his way over to her.  
  
Willow stood in front of the table and shoved her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. "Oh my god, Amber Grove caught on fire!"  
  
The Slayer felt the smile she had worn when her friends walk in fall. "Cheerleading practice. . . I thought it was tomorrow."  
  
Willow shook her head, a hint of fear in her eyes. "Well. . . the rest of it is."  
  
Buffy cursed under her breath.  
  
"Buff, everything ok?" Xander inquired. "It's not like it's vampires?"  
  
"Yeah, vampires just bite people, they don't. . . burn them." Willow stated awkwardly.  
  
"Well, if this is what seems to be the case. . ." Giles finished, obviously not having listened to what the Slayer had said earlier.  
  
"It's a witch!" Buffy nearly yelled, catching everyone's attention.  
  
Xander voiced their confusion. "What?"  
  
"Amy Madison is a witch. . . no. Her moms a witch, but her mom is her."  
  
The scooby gang watched her uneasily, Buffy shifted her weight on her feet as she met their gaze.  
  
"I. . . Willow, you know where the Madison house is?"  
  
The red head nodded.  
  
"OK, were going over there after school."  
  
Without waiting for an answer she shook her head in frustration and walked out the library.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Amy. . . is her mother?" Willow asked non believing as they made their way to the Madison Manor.  
  
Buffy nodded. "Uh huh."  
  
"And, her mom's a witch." The red head repeated what the Slayer had previously told her. "And she's killing off the cheerleading competition so she can be a kid again?"  
  
"Whatever happened to old school evil?" Xander slid up beside them. "You know the, I'm- going-to-kill-you-because-I-can bit?"  
  
Jesse laughed and hitched the weapons bag he had so graciously volunteered to hold. The jealously Xander harbored for his friend when Buffy handed the bag over wasn't lost on her, and she prayed that they both got over their obsession with her-fast.  
  
"I think Mrs. Turner is enough of old school evil for my tastes." The older boy said.  
  
Willow turned to him. "She isn't that bad."  
  
"One, she gave us detention for being a little bit late. Two, she gave us homework over the weekend. And three, she smells really, *really* bad." Xander ticked the points off on his fingers and Jesse gave him a high five for the last one.  
  
"Try being in a teachers conference with her. . ." Giles grumbled from the back of their messy party. He had been irritated with Buffy's irrational impulse to run off and confront the Madison's and had no reason to approve of this action, but had no power to stop her either.  
  
"Here we are." Willow announced as they came to a fenced off house, seemingly dark against the afternoon sun. They came to stand in front of the gate, and Buffy took the weapons bag from Jesse.  
  
She gave a glance toward the red head. "Let's go." Her words came out decidedly.  
  
"Buffy." Her Watcher called out as the blonde pushed open the gate.  
  
She turned to him, "Yeah?"  
  
Giles was at a loss of words, and Willow was undecided as to who to follow. Her friend was telling her to go in, where as her mentor was nervous about the scenario. "Be. . . be careful." He finally said.  
  
Buffy nodded to him without a smile, and the two stepped foot onto the property.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Jesse and Xander were playing rock-papers-scissors for what seemed to Giles like enough times to drive anyone to insanity, himself included. The sun had dipped further into the sky, and he was growing slightly uncomfortable. Neither girls were back, and there was no sign from the house of anything happening. The Watcher returned to his pacing, eyes intent on the door to the Madison house. His doubts were nagging him and he had nothing else to do but dwell on them. The Slayer, the Chosen One, had no need of a Watcher. She had handled each and every danger on her own, more with the help of the two goof offs, Xander and Jesse , the intelligent Willow, and, the mysterious Angel.  
  
She claimed she was from the future, and had no intention asking for his guidance on reliving her life. It made him wonder that in the her past reality, had he been any help to her?  
  
"Buffy, Will!" Xander's voice brought the Watcher back, and he saw the Slayer and red head dragging an knocked out Amy toward them. An older women walked behind them, clutching a book to her chest.  
  
"Hey." Buffy said for them as they came toward the waiting group. "Sorry, we took so long.. ." She dropped the girl. "We need to get to the school to reverse the spell." She met their gaze and turned toward the shaken women. "Everyone, *this* is Amy." Buffy toed the sleeping girl with her foot, her body sprawled on the cement. "And this. . . is a witch."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Giles read the ingredients carefully, sending Jesse and Xander to fetch the supplies that were needed. The school was empty when they had arrived, barren of life save for the seven of them. They had set up in the science room, Buffy's idea, just like everything else that had been done today. Amy, or, Mrs. Madison in her daughters body, was slumped in a chair. A careful eyes was kept on her by the Slayer.  
  
The real Amy, was watching Giles as he gathered the ingredients. Buffy had already destroyed the witch craft that was in the Madison home, so all they had to do was reverse the spell that kept the two from their true bodies.  
  
"We're ready to begin." The Watcher said, almost tiredly.  
  
Buffy looked up at him. "Let Willow do the spell."  
  
The red head, who had been intently reading a book of sorcery, looked up. "What? No, Buffy, I can't, I couldn't. . ."  
  
"Oh, ok." Buffy said in high pitched, fake defeat. "If you want Giles to do it then. . . I'm sure he'll somehow do it. . ."  
  
"I assure you I am quite capable of. . ." Giles faltered as Willow's eyes caught a glimpse of excitement.  
  
"I could try. . . I guess. . ."  
  
Buffy grinned wickedly to herself as the red head received careful instructions from the Watcher. Giles tentatively backed away as Willow begun to recite the spell, and he cursed his obedience to his Slayer.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Giles sat alone in his living room, sipping a cup of tea. It had been a battle after Mrs. Madison had been returned to her body. Buffy had cleared the room to fight the witch, and as a spell was directed at her, she had placed a mirror in front of her and Amy's mom. The spell had been reflected back to the caster, and the Watcher had seen her disappear.  
  
The fight hadn't been the worst he had ever seen, and he knew there would be far greater battles ahead. Yet. . . He took a small sip of the drink and sighed. When he had been given the task of looking over the Slayer, the *actual* Slayer, he had been ecstatic. To be the one Watching over the Chosen One was an extremely high honor. All he wanted was to walk her through the dark, show her the meaning of being what she was.  
  
But she needed none of his help. 


	5. Chapter Four: Teachers Pet

Teachers Pet  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N: I'm much happier with this chapter then I was with the previous one. Let it all be known that I *hated* how The Witch came out, I'm just way to lazy to rewrite it.  
  
One of my major fears is that out of my own stupidity, I'll leave out some major plot point or forget something entirely. If this is the case, *please* let me know.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Your drooling" Buffy hissed at the half concise boy. Xander fidgeted slightly in his sleep before falling back into his half dream like state.  
  
Dr. Gregory, the science teacher, continued the slide show with notice of the two inattentive students.  
  
"Xander!" The Slayer whispered again, trying to gain his attention. The boy slowly rolled his head out of sleep, and blinked at Buffy. "You've got a little. . ." She continued, rubbing the spot on her own face where he was drooling.  
  
He gave a dazed look at her, his mind still stuck in the false reality he had lulled himself into during class. As her eyes became persistent with his, he snapped out of it and wiped a quick hand over his mouth.  
  
"Their ancestors were here long before we were. Their progeny will be here long after we are gone. The simple and ubiquitous ant." The lesson the teacher was trying to get across to his students were only lyrics to the background music of the humming projector.  
  
Apart of Xander tried to pull himself back into his blissful dream when the light of the slide show turned off to be replaced by the harshness of florescent lamps. Dr. Gregory walked up the aisle, still talking. "Now. If you read the homework you should know the two ways that ants communicate."  
  
He stopped at Xander's desk, and the boy felt his stomach seized. Dr. Gregory couldn't possibly think *he* knew the answer! Relief swept over him as the teachers attention shifted toward Buffy.  
  
"Miss Summers." He stated, eyeing her carefully. Buffy tried to sink into her chair, wishing witch craft came with the Slayage deal. It would be so much easier if she could just disappear.  
  
"Ways that ants communicate." Buffy repeated quickly, remembering that he was just a teacher. She could handle this, no super natural gifts required. Added that she was 22 years old. . . then again, the study of insects hadn't been included in her brief college education.  
  
Dr. Gregory nodded. "Mm."  
  
Buffy smiled weakly. "With other ants."  
  
"From the homework." He prompted, an eyebrow raising at her loss of words.  
  
The Slayer scrambled for something to say, and then her attention was caught by a quickly motioning Willow. Her red head friend was stroking Xander's back. Had Willow finally overcome her shyness and was making a move on her crush. . .? "Oh!" Buffy exclaimed. "Touch."  
  
"Mm-hmm." The teacher sighed again, and the Slayer got the instinct impression he knew what was going on as Willow sniffed at Xander.  
  
"Smell." She said with a smile. If she recalled correctly, last time she had said B.O., not exactly the scientific answer that the teacher was looking for. Score one for Buffy! She thought triumphantly.  
  
There was a wry almost smile from Dr. Gregory. "Is there anything else Miss Rosenberg would like to tell you?"  
  
Buffy hung her head in embarrassment as the teacher walked away. The bell rang when he spoke. "All right, chapters six through eight by tomorrow people." The class stood and the thong of students made their way to the small escape of the door.  
  
The Slayer picked herself up and walked toward the door, but was stopped by the teacher. "Can I see you for a moment?"  
  
Buffy sighed as she prepared herself for the pep talk by the teacher. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy Dr. Gregory's interest in her, it was that he was going to replaced by a giant bug women very soon.  
  
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Buffy.  
  
"Actually." She stated quickly before he could get a word out. "Can we walk and talk? I have to get a book from the library before my next class."  
  
Dr. Gregory gave a slow nod, and followed her to the hall. The Slayer grinned ecstatically to herself, if she played her cards right, she'd keep all the good teachers alive.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Uh. . . Mr. Giles, can I talk to you for a sec?" Buffy asked quickly, casting a quick glance toward the waiting science teacher. She had tactfully kept him from telling her what he had in mind, and instead had answered her trivial questions on praying mantises.  
  
The Watcher looked up to see the pleading eyes of his Slayer. Sighing, he set the book he had been reading down, and took her to the other side of the library, where they could whisper without eavesdroppers.  
  
"There's a praying mantis that's out to eat Dr. Gregory." Buffy pulled in a breath as she caught a glance of the teacher. "Can you keep him distracted while I look for the bug?"  
  
There was no need to argue her point, or ask questions. There was time for that later. He merely nodded.  
  
"I, need a recording of bats." The Slayer said under her breath.  
  
Giles nodded, slightly irritated at the command, but buried the emotion. "Right, one second." He left her presence for a moment and Buffy quickly let her attention drift toward her purse instead of speaking to the teacher. The sooner they talked, the sooner he'd be in danger.  
  
The Watcher returned with a tape and player, and Buffy grabbed it. Smiling her thanks as she rushed out to the halls.  
  
There was a confused look on the teachers face as the girl left and Giles scrambled for a believable story to tell him.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy had found the bug girl in Dr. Gregory's room, rummaging through some of his files. She didn't wait for an introduction as the women turned to face her, just pressed the play button and watched in slight disgust as she literally blew up. The Slayer had taken precautions to be of safe distance before playing the insects death tune, and was far out of the reach of any bug guts.  
  
The Slayer quickly slipped out of the room. She did not want to get caught and have to clean up the mess.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy arrived at the Bronze later then she had wanted to. The talk with Dr. Gregory had gone well, and she looked forward to having him for the rest of the year. After the teacher left, she had filled Giles in on the death of a demon, he had only nodded in pale interest, and asked for certain details of the event.  
  
As the Slayer searched the club for any familiar faces, she felt a pit grown in her stomach. The relationship she had had with the Watcher was not present in this new life. Then again, in her past one her motto had been 'Seize the moment'.  
  
Now it was 'The mission is what matters.' Sure it was more productive, but it left her feeling lonely as she leaned against a pillar to listen to the band, but not really hear it.  
  
"Buffy."  
  
The Slayer whirled around with unnatural speed to look up into Angel's face. The emptiness she had previously felt lessened slightly at contact with his eyes. "Angel, hi." Her voice came out meek as she trailed his steps to a less crowded part of the Bronze.  
  
When they stopped, he scanned the club, not resting on her as her gaze was on him. "Your cold." He said almost off handily.  
  
"I'll be OK." She told him, rubbing her arms.  
  
Angel shrugged off his jacket, and handed it to her. She smiled her thanks and slipped it on, noticing the three long gashes on his left arm.  
  
She inwardly cursed. She had fooled herself into thinking that she was done for the day in terms of demonic activity. Of course, the presence of a clawed vampire had been lost to her memory.  
  
"We're. . . uh, going to have to kill that thing." She stated awkwardly, motioning with her eyes toward the cut.  
  
Angel followed her gaze to the gash. "It's dangerous."  
  
"I can handle it." She sighed into the coat, and wrapped it tighter around her. Reigning in the energy to fight. "Can you help me track it?" It wasn't that she really needed the help, but she lusted for the company.  
  
He hesitated before nodding, and they walked out into the night.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Whatever trouble Buffy had had when she previously encountered this vampire, didn't turn up this time around. They had taken their time tracking the clawed demon, not conversing, but the silence was comfortable. The Slayer had quickly taken it from behind with a sharp kick, and then landed a stake in it's back when it fell to the ground.  
  
Dust on the soft earth of an empty park.  
  
She and Angel has said their good-byes after that. Buffy had tried to give him back his coat, but he refused, saying it looked better on her.  
  
And so the Slayer walked alone back to her home. Hugging the scent of the vampire closer to her body. The emptiness begun to creep on her again as she turned the street. Sure, she had saved more lives this time around, dusted more vampires and gotten better grades, but. . . she sighed into the night. Life had been fuller the first time. She had no relationship with Giles here. Her grudge from the betrayal before still lingered, and she couldn't seem to get over it. Even though she was reliving her life, she still knew everything she needed from him, so what use could he be?  
  
On top of that, things between her, Xander, Willow and Jesse were staying two dimensional. Apart of Buffy was afraid that if she let them closer in, they would be hurt. It was her fault after all that Xander lost an eye.  
  
Fighting back unexpected tears, and telling herself that she still had room for major improvements, she stepped up to her house, and let herself in.  
  
At least things with Angel were going smoothly. 


	6. Chapter five: Never Kill a Boy on the Fi...

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N Thought it was about time Buffy and Giles patched things up. The tension I had built between them was fun to develop, but now it's just getting tedious.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy landed a high roundhouse kick in the vampires face. The demon staggered back to hold his balance but suddenly attacked with a jumping half twisting crescent kick which the Slayer easily ducked. She had forgotten how hard it was to concentrate in High School, at least here, in her environment of tombstones and demons, she could work off the stress.  
  
Giles watched the blonde fight against the dark, and he noted that she treated the fight more like a dance then a duty. It was the first time he had heard of a Slayer that battled the night with a smile on her face.  
  
After parrying a series of blows, Buffy grabbed onto the vampires arm and hit him in the face with a high front snap kick. Detaching herself from his limb she punched him squarely in the gut and a fury of punches to the face that had him falling to the floor. Rising above him, stake in hand and delight glimmering in her eyes, she let the weapon slid into his chest.  
  
The Watcher noticed that as the demon became dust on the damp soil, a ring was left behind. Before he could say anything, Buffy knelt down and picked it up, handing it to the interested Watcher.  
  
"The Anointed one is coming." She watched him take the ring. "I have it under control."  
  
Giles met her eyes. "You sure?" The words came out almost tedious.  
  
The Slayer nodded, and was the first to let her gaze falter. "I think that's all of the evil undead out there tonight, and I got a English exam to study for, so bye?" She hated having to ask for permission.  
  
"Very well, good night then. I'll do research on this anointed one." Giles made the title sound like a fictional piece she had made up.  
  
"You really don't have to." Buffy said quickly, shifting her weight. "I know who it is and I know where he'll be. . . I've got it under control."  
  
The Watcher gave a small shook of his head and withdrew his glasses to clean them. "You seem to have everything under your control." His voice was even as he said it, no emotion leaking into his voice, and yet the statement left Buffy feeling pained.  
  
"It wasn't like this before." She said softly letting her gaze fall to the floor.  
  
Giles looked up from where he had previously been cleaning his glasses with the underside of his shirt. "How was it then Buffy? I'm your Watcher, I'm supposed to be guiding you though this, and yet, you keep pushing me off to the sidelines." He waited until she met his harsh gaze. "I understand that circumstances are different, that you already know everything that I have to teach, but that's no excuse to leave me in the dark. I am still your only tie to the Watchers Council and you can't expect to save the world with only yourself to turn to-"  
  
"But that's all I ever had!" The Slayer nearly cried, feeling her eyes water up and wondering if she would be able to fight them back. "I'm the Slayer, I'm alone." She took a shaky breath. "I'm always alone."  
  
The Watcher waited for her to regain herself and replaced his glasses. "You seem to surround yourself with enough people to keep you from feeling lonely." He was through feeling pity for her, even as she struggled not to cry.  
  
"Willow and Xander, they're my best friends. . . or at last they were. . ." She trailed of pitifully. "Maybe it's wrong to have introduced them to the demonic world, but they're the only reason I was able to survive last time around."  
  
"And what of the man, Angel?" Giles still had no mercy to spare her until he gave her reason to do so.  
  
Buffy shook her head, seemingly regaining herself at the name of the dark stranger. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."  
  
"Well we bloody well talk about it!" The Watcher had used up his patience and Buffy took a small step backward at the outburst.  
  
"Get off my back about it, OK?" She shot back quickly. "I serve my duty and get the job done. What I do with my personal life is my business!"  
  
"I've been more then lenient when it comes to your activities. You are not a school girl, your the Slayer! Your the Chosen one-"  
  
She cut him off. "I'm the Chosen one to fight evil, I know!"  
  
The Watcher was still infuriated with her, but kept silent as she seemed to be preparing to speak.  
  
"Do you know what's happening? Well do you!" She cried, eyes beginning to water. "The Master is going to rise, and last time around, he killed me!" Her breath was caught as she continued. "But I still win, even though I die, I still win." The Slayer was on the verge of crying as she confessed her hidden fears to the Watcher. "I still have nightmares about it, years from then, I can still see his face, feel him killing me."  
  
Tears were running free from her eyes, and Giles wasn't sure if he could comfort her. This was the first time she had spoken to him about her emotions concerning her position in the world. He felt the anger fall, and be replaced by sorrow. This girl standing in front of him had her life ahead of her, yet she already knew how it played out, and she wasn't looking forward to it.  
  
"I'm afraid." She whispered, breaking him from his thoughts. "I don't want to die, not again, two times is enough, don't you think?."  
  
Giles nodded and took a step forward to take her into a hug. He was surprised as she took the initiative and embraced him. The Watcher had expected it to be awkward, but found himself calming the sobbing girl as she cried out her fears.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Angel watched the scene from behind the shadows. The Slayer was sobbing in the arms of her Watcher, and as much as he wanted to go help her, he knew a vampire had no business in the matter. His thoughts turned to what she had mentioned before the break down, about the Anointed One and the inevitable rise of the Master. Angel knew how the prophecies played out, he also knew there was little he, or anyone could do to stop them. The Slayer was the only one who could help herself, he, and the Watcher could only offer support. Sending one last glance toward the scene before him, he turned and walked out of the cemetery.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy watched as Giles paced the library, playing with the ring they had picked up from the dusted vampire.  
  
They were both waiting for the other to speak, yet neither had the courage to begin.  
  
The Slayer sat on a wooden chair, her feet against the table so she was leaning backwards. It was getting late, and she was afraid that if she didn't get home soon, her mother would start to worry. What she had said to Giles about fearing the upcoming events was true, she was terrified. But. . . just being able to see her mother again seemed to make even facing the Master again worth it. Accidentally she pushed to hard and the chair fell from beneath her, making her land flat on her bottom.  
  
Startled, the Watcher looked at the girl. And then, suddenly, she burst into laughter. Giles gave her a confused look, and then started to chuckle as well as he rushed over to help her up.  
  
Buffy pushed the giggles aside and let her eyes fall to the floor, a small smile still on her lips. "I'm sorry."  
  
"For what?" Giles stepped back and let the Slayer stand on her own.  
  
She met his eyes and she didn't have to say anything, he nodded his response.  
  
He helped her upright the chair and as she safely sat back in it, he took the seat next to her. Folding one hand over the other, he watched her shift positions awkwardly.  
  
"There's a prophecy, that says I'm going to die, and I do." The Slayer started off the conversation without Giles needing to prompt her. "Or at least, I did." She added feebly.  
  
Giles leaned forward, interest sparked in his gaze. "But you come back."  
  
"Yeah." She rolled her shoulders forward. "Xander does CPR, and then I kill the Master."  
  
"Xander? The very boy who is a disgrace to the English language?"  
  
Buffy slightly smiled. "Yep, that's the one."  
  
"Anything else. . ." Giles wondered, but trailed off as the Slayer met his gaze.  
  
"Stuff happens, yeah, but nothing apocalypse-y, I'll keep you updated."  
  
"I'd like that."  
  
Buffy nodded, more to herself then in reply to the Watcher.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
The Slayer had little luck in tracking down the Anointed One. He seemed to have disappeared under ground, along with the rest of the Masters henchman, and she had little intention of risking life and limb to go travel down there. The Anointed One was not really a threat, and if she came across him, she would drive a stake through his heart.  
  
Patching things up with her Watcher had turned out to be more of a relief then she expected. Giles treated like the adult she was, and yet still took control if Buffy needed to relive the events of High School without burden. She still hadn't found the time, or place to create a real friendship with Xander, Willow and Jesse, so she told Giles as they trained in the library that she was cutting patrol early to hang out the Bronze.  
  
"The Anointed One is still out there you know." He reminded her sternly, helping her put away the equipment she had been using.  
  
"Yeah, and he's being such a threat by staying under ground." Buffy mocked and stretched her arms above her head. "Look, if anything comes up, beep me."  
  
The Watched sighed and waved her off, ecstatic the Slayer flashed him a smile and ran off toward home.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy ran a quick hand through her hair as she stepped into the lights of the Bronze. The club was filled, which was to be expected on a Friday night. She quickly scanned the lower floor, and found Xander sitting alone at a table.  
  
"Hey." The Slayer said with a grin as she slid into the seat next to him.  
  
"Buffy!" His attention quickly changed from day dreaming and he locked his eyes on hers. "How'd the Slaying go?"  
  
Buffy cast a look around to see if anyone was listening in. "Not so loud!" She hissed.  
  
"I meant, how did the Laying go?" He looked smug for a moment, but the facade evaporated as Buffy gave him an annoyed look. "No, I didn't mean that either."  
  
Giving up on it, Buffy laughed and noticed that behind her was Willow and Jesse.  
  
She turned toward them, her smile not faltering. "What's up guys?"  
  
Jesse grinned and said hello, but Willow seemed uneasy. "Buffy, can I talk to you." She took a breath. "Alone?"  
  
Confused at the red heads nervousness, the Slayer excused herself and followed Willow to an unoccupied couch on the other end of the club.  
  
"Is something wrong Willow? Did something happen because if anything happened-" Buffy burst out, afraid that her friend had been hurt or worse. . .  
  
"Buffy, calm down!" Willow laughed and shot a quick glance to where Jesse and Xander sat. "I just needed to talk to you away from the guys."  
  
The Slayer giggled in relief and waited for the red head to continue.  
  
"Do you know Owen?" Willow asked tentatively  
  
It took the Slayer a moment to realize what she was talking about. Her High School love interest had been entirely focused on Angel, with a brief interruption by a certain Scott Hope. All others had been pushed to the side, so it took her a moment to remember the Emily Dickinson obsessed bookworm.  
  
"Yeah. . ." Buffy breathed out a sigh. "Why do you ask?"  
  
Willow's eyes momentarily shifted to where a boy sat across The Bronze. He had his head down, busily reading a paperback, Buffy had to guess that this was Owen. "Word on the street is he likes you."  
  
"Will, who put you up to this?" The Slayer gave her friend a smile to accompany the semi harsh statement.  
  
The red head looked flushed at the accusation. "What? No one, I was just wondering. . ."  
  
Buffy kept her eyes on Willow until she gave it up. "All right! He asked me to ask you if you would consider going out with him."  
  
Apart of the Buffy considered to pity him with a date, just for the sake of nostalgia, but that thought was quickly put to rest as she remembered exactly what happened to the boy on the original date.  
  
"Nah, I think tonight I'll just hang out with my friends, c'mon, let's go back with the guys."  
  
Willow seemed surprised at the statement and followed Buffy back toward the table where Xander and Jesse were currently seeing who could chug a coke the fastest. For all the immaturity that went along with it, Buffy thanked whatever Power had decided to bring her back for a second go around. 


	7. Chapter Six: The Pack

The Pack  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N I am going to say this right now. I am in no way, shape of form, a shipper. Yes, Buffy and Angel and meant for each other, but it can never be. And Spike's love for Buffy is very true, but their relationship in Season 6 wasn't healthy at all, and it takes more then a soul for the Slayer to get over that.  
  
There will be both pairings in the story. But because Spike is still in Prague with Dru, he can't very well be a love interest for Buffy in this installment, now can he? This series will have six books, one for each season, and the cannon pairings will more or less be identical. I am still not sure what I will do with Spike when he is introduced in School Hard, but I can assure you this, there will be conflict between him and Angel. We are dealing with a Season 7 Slayer, not a 16 year old girl. She was in love with both vampires at the series finale, and she is in love with both of them right now.  
  
Please do not write off this story because of the pairing, and please do not criticize me for not pairing Buffy and Spike together. I will, it's just not possible if I hold true to cannon.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"What are Kyle and his buds doing with Lance?"  
  
Buffy looked in Willows direction and saw what the red head was referring to. The four punks were harassing a smallish dorky kid who the Slayer vaguely remembered from her prior high school days.  
  
Xander joined in their gazing. "Oh, playing with him as a cat plays with a mouse."  
  
The Slayer sighed. It had taken her the whole week to remember exactly why she had dreaded this trip. At first she had chalked it up to the fact that watching caged animals had never been her idea of fun. Then, as she had thought about it instead of paying attention in physics, she had wondered that maybe some social disaster occurred. It was only when Willow had mentioned the new hyena exhibit that Buffy had recalled the exact reason.  
  
At least it's easy enough to avoid, she sighed. "What is it with those guys?"  
  
"They're jerks." Jesse added, sipping the last of his drink so that it made an irritating slurping noise.  
  
"Well, every school has 'em. So, you start a new school, you get your desks, some blackboards and some mean kids." One of the girls pushed Lance toward the Hyena section as Xander spoke.  
  
Buffy excused herself and made a made a straight line to stand between the exhibit and the students.  
  
"Summers, get out of our way." Kyle hissed as he came up to her.  
  
Tor came beside him and smirked. "Careful, she might beat you up!"  
  
The four of them laughed, Lance joining in nervously.  
  
Buffy just shook her head. "It's closed, or can't you read? What, need to get held back a few more years?"  
  
Kyle's eyes narrowed, but he didn't have a chance to say anything before the hyena specialist halted all of them. "Oh, hold it, hold it, are you blind, or are you just illiterate? Because hyenas are very quick to prey on the weak."  
  
The Slayer quickly apologized for all of them and walked away, a last glare by Kyle and his lackeys following her as she went back to Willow.  
  
"What was that about?" The red head asked as Buffy took them over to the monkeys.  
  
"Nothing. . . but remind me to tell Giles to file a report against the hyena guy."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
The Watcher was able to file a malpractice suit against the zoo keeper for ill treating the hyenas.  
  
It left Buffy with a sense of accomplishment, that she was able to avert evil without much of a hassle as she patrolled the graveyard that night. 


	8. Chapter Seven: Angel

Angel  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N I actually have a valid excuse for the delay on this chapter. I've come down with phenomena. I took my limited energy and worked on this, so be grateful!  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy fidgeted in her chair as the life of the Bronze went on without her. She had noticed the fact that an abnormal amount of cockroaches inhabited the club, mostly because one had run over her foot nearly making her jump in her chair. But as interesting as insect life was, her thoughts were distracted elsewhere.  
  
She hadn't seen Angel for a long while, and she was beginning to worry. The ensouled vampire usually prowled behind her in the shadows, and the only vampires she had sensed recently were those of the staking kind. The Slayer knew she was being paranoid, and that Angel was probably fine, but it didn't stop her from wanting to see him.  
  
"Ah, the fumigation party." Willow sighed, looking plaintively at the scene in front of her and stealing glances to the dance floor.  
  
Buffy nodded, not really listening. "Oh."  
  
"It's a lot of fun. . ." The red head wandered as her gaze landed on her friend. "What's it like where *you* are?"  
  
The statement brought Buffy out of her trance and she blushed as she smiled. "I'm. . . sorry, I was just. . . thinking about things. . ."  
  
"So, we're talking about a guy?" Willow supplied the unspoken information and repositioned herself so she was in better talking position to the Slayer.  
  
Buffy swayed uneasily in her chair. She had forgotten how strange it was to be a teenager in love, especially one with a crush on an eons old vampire. The plaintive looks Willow stole toward Xander on the dance floor nearly made the Slayer cringe with sympathy for the red head. The two life long friends had never really hooked up, and Buffy wondered if maybe she could change that. . . just for interest of course.  
  
"Yes, a guy." The Slayer confessed with sigh, no reason to keep it from Willow.  
  
The red head took the information with a sparkle in the her emerald eyes. "Were talking about Angel, aren't we? I knew it, you're always distant when your thinking about him!" She nearly squealed as she realized the main figure of Buffy's thoughts.  
  
The Slayer smiled with a kept in laugh at her friend and shook her head out of loss of words. "I don't know, I haven't seem him in a while and I don't know if he even wants to see me."  
  
"Of course he wants to see you!" Willow exclaimed excitedly. She had met the vampire once - other then that time at The Harvest - while tagging along with Buffy on patrol. Angel had stepped out of the darkness only to scamper back after noticing the Slayer had company. Buffy hadn't been sure if she was irritated with her friend or not, and then she had remembered how she had abused her friendship with Willow while trying to steal away with Spike. Not that she was still guilty for the action, as it had never really happened, just it seemed as though putting her love life over her friends seemed shallow. So this time around, more scoobie meetings then make out sessions under the facade of patrol.  
  
It was only one more thing to add to the ever growing list.  
  
Buffy blinked awkwardly at Willow's outburst. "And you say this. . ."  
  
"It's obvious!" The red head continued. "He stammers when he's around you, and he fidgets. He doesn't know what to do." Willow was so definite in her observation that Buffy couldn't argue. The uneasiness of Angel when he had appeared in front of the two friends had been apparent, but the Slayer had chalked it up to the vampire encountering Willow.  
  
Then again, he always seemed to be out of place when he was around her. Fidgety and awkward when he spoke, and maybe that was due to the fact that he liked her. "Mhmm." Buffy responded, feeling the paranoia of losing Angel as a lover fall away at her friends assurance. Her eyes drifted off into her own reality and returned after brief thought. "With Angel. . . it's like the lights dim everywhere else. You know how it's like that with some guys?"  
  
After she said it, Buffy noticed where her friends attention had drifted off too. Xander was still on the dance floor, she seemed transfixed as he gave up on dancing as Cordelia chased him off.  
  
"Oh yeah." Willow said, surprising Buffy that she had heard her.  
  
They both watched as Xander clumsily made his way over to their table, tripping over a chair and nearly falling on a couple in the process. Arriving with surprising so physical harm, Xander plopped down in the unoccupied chair, sighing. "Boy, that Cordelia is a regular breath of vile air. What are you vixens up to?"  
  
"Just sitting here, watching our barren lives pass us by." As Willow spoke a bug ran over the floor, inches from her flip flop. "Oh, look, a cockroach." With a monotone movement she stomped on the insect and grinned in faint satisfaction.  
  
Buffy watched her friend and then scanned the Bronze, returning to Xander in interest. "Where's Jesse? I thought he said he was going to meet us tonight."  
  
Xander looked up from where he had been previously cleaning his fingernails. "Jesse? Oh, he's stuck at home on grounds of being grounded."  
  
The Slayer nodded her answer and stifled a yawn. She hadn't noticed sleep creep up on her and now all she wanted was to curl on the couch with some tea. It wasn't as if the Bronze was that exciting tonight, and watching Willow try to catch Xander's attention while he cleaned his fingernails wasn't exactly her idea of fun.  
  
"I'm pretty beat, think I'm going to call it a night." Buffy yawned, standing up and grabbing her bag.  
  
Willow turned around quickly. "No, don't go!" It seemed almost a plea and Buffy knew why. The red head wanted someone there to lean on while she tried to reel in Xander.  
  
"Don't go, we could. . . dance!" Xander said before Buffy could reply to Willow.  
  
Shaking her head, Buffy told the two she was way to tired to enjoy the club life and just wanted to head home. The both finally let her go and the Slayer walked quickly out of the Bronze, feeling the night wrap around her as she entered the world outside.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
She knew there was something out there before they appeared. The Slayer had enough time to assess the situation and slide a stake in her hand in time. They attacked in force, all three of them in the battle and it took all Buffy's training to keep from falling.  
  
They weren't that far from the Bronze, distanced enough so they weren't in sight of the club, but most any one walking out would see the three vampires and herself.  
  
So when they dragged her into an alley way, Buffy found it hard to complain.  
  
The vampires were powerful, and even with her advanced training, the Slayer couldn't fight off the attack. Two of them caught her by either wrist and forced her against the back of the alley. The third advanced on her, fangs bared and death gleaming in his eyes.  
  
Acting on instinct Buffy kneed the vampire in the groin and took advantage of the other two by elbowing one in the nose and snap kicking the other with a swift roundhouse kick. Freed from their grasp she bolted quickly, only to run into a shadowed figure, who had just entered the battle scene.  
  
"Hey." She said breathlessly, well aware of the three vampires behind her.  
  
"Having trouble?" Was Angel's only reply as one of her attackers came with a punch that was directed to her head, Buffy quickly snapped around and took the vampires hand in her own. She redirected the force and threw him against the back of the alley.  
  
She didn't have time to dawdle on the fact that Angel had reappeared into her life as she was suddenly fighting the remaining two vampires while her follower went to deal with other one.  
  
The Slayer let her training take over and spinned into a crescent kick that took down one of the vampires. Turning so she faced the standing one they traded punches until Buffy found a chance to side sweep him down. Before she could fool herself into thinking she had won, she heard Angel yell.  
  
"Watch out!"  
  
As she turned she felt a searing pain lash across her chest as the vampire she had first taken down slashed her across the chest. Angel quickly slammed the assailant he had been dealing with against the wall, knocking him out and launched himself toward the vampire with the weapon. He was holding a metal bar in right hand and was standing above the kneeling Buffy who held both hands across the wound. The vampire raised the weapon to finish the job but was knocked off by Angel, the metal bar instead came crashing down on the Slayer's head, knocking her out onto the hard ground of the alleyway.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy came to while she was carried in Angel's arms as he crashed through the dark. She could feel the blood drip from the wound on her chest, it was deep and the pain radiated throughout her body. Sensing that she had awoken, Angel said something, but the Slayer couldn't make it out as sleep tried to take her back. She didn't protest, it would make the pain lessen.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
It took Angel four and half minutes to find his apartment. He hadn't been able to shake the three vampires that chased him and as he reached his door he was shaking with fear. If it was out of encountering The Three, or the wound Buffy had received, he didn't know.  
  
But it had been a long while since he had been afraid of anything but himself.  
  
He shouldered the door open and rushed in, quickly going over to the couch and laying Buffy on it. He kneeled beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder for comfort while he raised the material of her tank top to inspect the wound. Her shirt was a light pink and the added blood stain was an uncomfortable sight. Angel had to cringe at the wound, it was deep and blood was flowing freely. She wasn't a normal human, but to any creature this would be a near fatal injury.  
  
And as much as Angel wanted to help her, the blood was overpowering his judgment. The scent of Slayer blood was enough to drive any vampire to game face and Angel was having a hard time keeping it together. Just as he was about to get up to get out of temptations way, he felt her swim back to conciseness, her eyes heavy with pain.  
  
"Angel." She choked, the effort to cling to life obvious.  
  
He clutched her hand and brought it to his lips, meeting her eyes and trying to lend her strength. "I'm here."  
  
The Slayer nodded slowly, and winced slightly from the pain.  
  
"Your going to be okay." Angel breathed out. Without thinking he kissed her knuckles, watching her with unblinking eyes.  
  
There was a weak smile on her lips. "I know, I'm with you."  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
When Buffy came to again, she was laying under red satin sheets and against the chest of a man. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and who she was leaning against. Her mind still groggy from sleep, Buffy tried to remember if she had slept with Angel as she attempted to move away. Pain lashed across her chest at the sudden move and she yelped in surprise.  
  
"Hey, take it easy." Angel said, putting a hand on her shoulder to still her. He shifted position to meet her eyes. "Your still hurt."  
  
Buffy nodded and shut her eyes to remember the events that had occurred. The three vampires, the wound, Angel saving her. . . Instinctively she let her hand find the injury. The lower part of her stomach was bandaged and she lay only in her bra. Even with the reality of what had happened, she found herself blushing.  
  
She also noticed Angel lay bare-chested.  
  
"Why are we. . ." Buffy trailed off, referring to the fact that they were in bed together. Apart of her relished in the guilty pleasure. She hadn't laid next to the vampire like this in what seemed like a lifetime ago, and she missed it. But it also tore her, knowing that they could sleep in the same bed, but they could never sleep together.  
  
It took Angel a moment to gather himself and he quickly jumped out of the bed, he stood with only a pair of pants and the chain he always wore. Buffy drew herself up against the head bored, slowly to avoid pain. She pulled the sheets up past her shoulders and met Angel's gaze.  
  
"The wound didn't hit any organs, I bandaged you up. You should be fine in a few days. . . but after you passed out you begin to thrash. I was afraid you'd tear something so I had to. . ." The explanation he offered was awkward and he trailed off, not knowing how to phrase it.  
  
"Had to sleep with me." Buffy supplied for him quietly. "It's fine, really, I don't mind."  
  
Angel shook his head and came to sit on the edge of the bed. "You got pretty violent."  
  
"Sorry." The Slayer said meekly.  
  
"No, I'm just relived your all right." He sighed, expelling unneeded air. "I thought I had lost you."  
  
The Slayer gave a tight smile as she played with a lose thread from the covers. "Promise me something. . ." She trailed off as he nodded. "Promise me you won't leave."  
  
Angel seemed to falter for a moment while he took in what he had been told. "I won't." He said it so convincingly that neither felt the need to say anything more.  
  
And he watched her until she drifted back to sleep.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
This time when Buffy awoke it was to the back of a fully dressed Angel. She was feeling better, the pain in her stomach lessened.  
  
"What time is it?" She whispered, her throat dry.  
  
The vampire turned around quickly, a soft smile on his face. "The sun just went down."  
  
It took Buffy a moment to calculate the passage of days. "Oh my god, I've got to get home, my mom doesn't know where I am. . ." She attempted to rise out of bed, but cringed in pain until Angel helped her up.  
  
"Your still hurt." He reminded her, taking a few steps away.  
  
She sighed impatiently. "I know, but I have to get home."  
  
Angel nodded in acceptance and watched as she struggled to move forward. Her eyes closed tightly as if she refused to admit defeat although she knew she was still to weak to make the walk back. He turned away from her to grab her shirt, which was still blood stained, and handed it to her. She smiled weakly in thanks and slipped it on.  
  
"Do you have a car?" She asked with hurt pride.  
  
The vampire shook his head. "Here, let me help you." He came over to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, allowing her to lean on him for support. In this position she was able to make her way out of the apartment and to the newly born night above with little complaint from her wound.  
  
"Where not that far away from your house." Angel told her as they walked slowly through the park. It was still to early for the crowed that headed for the Bronze, and to late for anyone out for the day. So the area was desolate of life, and Buffy only hoped that none of the undead decided to take advantage of an impaired Slayer.  
  
"How do you know where I live." She asked with a hint of a smile as they stepped off a curb and onto the street.  
  
He looked down to her. "You know where I live, it's only fair."  
  
Buffy hid a grin by letting her eyes wander toward the street. She was blushing slightly that Angel had taken the time to find where she lived. The older part of her cursed herself that she was acting like a young school girl in love for the first time, and the child part that had been rekindled noticed that as Angel helped her back home, they looked like lovers.  
  
It surprised her when they reached her house. She had been concentrating on breathing rather then her surroundings as the pain begun to creep back. The wound reminded her of the one she had received while she was still battling Glory. Where she had slipped up and had a stake driven through her stomach by a vampire. Even then she had been back in the game after a few days, and the pain hadn't been this bad. It made her wonder how long she'd be sitting on the sidelines.  
  
Angel helped her up the doorstep and waited for her to go inside. His dark eyes came to meet her own, and Buffy met them. "Will you take patrol, at least, until I get better?"  
  
He nodded. "Long as you need."  
  
Buffy took in a deep breath and readied herself by divorcing from Angel and walking independently to the door. She opened it and light bathed the porch. The vampire came to her side, but she didn't take the offered help as she walked in. He watched from the doorway as she slowly peered around the corner to the kitchen. Seemingly not seeing her mother, she turned back toward Angel.  
  
"You can come in." She said tentatively, apprehensive about where her mother was. He gave a small nod and entered the house, hands disappearing into the depths of his pockets. She looked around once more before turning her attention on the vampire. "I don't know where my mom is, I guess maybe she's out or something-"  
  
"Buffy?"  
  
The Slayer was cut off as her mother spotted her from the top of the stairs. She hurried down the steps, worry painted in her eyes. "Oh my god, I was worried sick, where were you? What happened? Are you all right?" The questions came so fast and was lost among a hug that Buffy couldn't find the proper words to explain, only yelped in pain as the embrace became to strong.  
  
"Buffy. . . what's wrong?" Her mother drew back quickly as the Slayer clutched the wound. In both effort to minimize the pain and hide the blood stain on her shirt.  
  
"It's nothing, I was, it. . ." Her eyes traveled toward the Angel who had stood silent during the scene. She cursed herself a moment later, because now her mothers attention was also on the mysterious stranger who had brought her daughter home.  
  
"Buffy was jumped." Angel supplied calmly, meeting Joyce's eyes with a level gaze. "She was slashed across the stomach with a metal rod before I could help." Even as he told her the events, Buffy's mother didn't become frantic as he delivered it with such confidence. The Slayer knew Angel was a good actor, but even this surprised her.  
  
Joyce turned back toward Buffy, who stood nervously. "You were jumped? Weren't Willow or Xander with you?"  
  
"No, I got tired and left the Bronze early." She stated awkwardly as her mother again turned toward Angel.  
  
"And exactly who are you. . ."  
  
"Angel's a med. Student. We met at the Bronze a few nights ago." Buffy supplied quickly off the top of her head. "He fixed me back up after the attack."  
  
The bewilderment and worry was evident in Joyce's eyes as she tried to make sense of everything. "Mr. Angel, thank you for helping out my daughter, but why didn't you think to call me?"  
  
"I didn't know the number. . . and Buffy was out for most of the time." The vampire said quickly.  
  
Joyce nodded and sent a quick glance toward her daughter. "Well, thank you again, but if you don't mind, I really think I need some alone time with Buffy."  
  
Angel nodded, his eyes lingering on the Slayer before he left. She bit her lower lip as he walked out the door.  
  
"Goodness, Buffy, what happened to you!" Joyce exclaimed once she had showed Angel out. She came over to her daughter and shook her head in worry. She softly moved Buffy's arms away from where she covered the blood stain and raised the shirt up, exposing the bandaged wound. A small gasp escape from her lips.  
  
"It's OK mom, Angel fixed it. I'll be fine in a few days."  
  
"And how exactly did you meet this man? Are you two. . ."  
  
"No, mom." Buffy grasped for an explanation. "I see him at the Bronze a lot, we've talked before but it's nothing like that. We're friends, and he helped me out."  
  
Joyce sighed. "Well you owe your friend a thank you, when you feel up to it I expect you to go over to his house and thank him for helping you."  
  
The Slayer nodded. "I know, but now I'm exhausted. Think I'm going to call it a night."  
  
Her mother smiled tightly. "I'll call the school and tell them you won't be in tomorrow."  
  
Buffy nodded and turned to up the stairs. Her scamper turned into a slow walk as the pain again let it's self be known as she climbed the steps.  
  
Joyce watched her daughter and wet her lips. "Buffy." She called and the blonde turned, wincing at the sudden stab of pain. "Are you going to be OK?"  
  
The Slayer nodded. "I'll be fine." And as she resumed her climb, she wondered if what she had just said was true.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
It had been a four days and the wound was still keeping Buffy from patrol. She had spent four days at home, and two recovering at Angels. That added to nearly a week that she hadn't been out there in the dark doing her job.  
  
The second day home her mother had come up to her with a phone call. Checking the time before she picked up the receiver, she noticed it couldn't be Jesse, Xander or Willow on grounds they were still in school. So she held the phone to her ear nervously, letting a sigh of relief as she heard the English accent on the other end. Angel had stopped by afterwards to tell Giles what had happened, disappearing into the shadows before the Watcher could get the necessary details. Buffy assured him that she was all right, and once her mother left the room, she whispered in a hush tone; "I've gotten hurt before, not this bad but close to it and I've been fine in a day or so. I'm not healing as fast as I should, isn't that apart of the Slaying package?"  
  
Giles told her that as she grew older, and her strength grew, so would her healing abilities. Technically, she was still new to her status as a Slayer, and her body needed time to accept the power. He did tell her that she would be well soon, faster then a normal human, but not as fast as Buffy felt it should be.  
  
Later on that day, Willow stopped by with soup and the schoolwork Buffy had missed. She stayed for a while, listening as Buffy told her the events of what had happened.  
  
"So he slept with you?" The red asked.  
  
Buffy nodded and took a sip of the soup. "It wasn't anything sexual. . . but I don't know, I can't tell what's going on between us."  
  
The Slayer finished telling her friend what happened and quickly changed the subject by asking how Jesse and Xander were doing.  
  
"Well," Willow started, the gleam in her eyes dimming. "Jesse asked Kristin Applebee to the dance this weekend. . . and Xander told me that once you got better he was going to ask you."  
  
Buffy felt her stomach sink and tried to remember how long it took Xander to move away from her. As she thought back on it, he hadn't let the crush die until he had found Anya. Even when he was with Cordelia he still had the Slayer in the back of his mind. And poor Willow. . . she just wanted Xander to notice her as more then a friend.  
  
"If you makes you feel better, I'll say no." Buffy supplied, and Willow looked up from where she had been tracing the designs on Buffy's bed.  
  
"I know. . . I mean, if you wanted to you could, but I just wish. . ." The red head stumbled off sadly.  
  
Buffy wished she could tell Willow about Oz, and that there was someone at there for her. Forgetting her earlier pondering about setting up Willow and Xander, she wondered if the soon to be witch and werewolf hadn't had that falling out, if Willow would have turned gay.  
  
Rationalizing that was still a ways off, she changed the subject again to a safer topic.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Her eighth day on the mend, Buffy peeked at the wound and was delighted to see that it was nearly healed. The pain that had plagued her had nearly disappeared unless she tried something to physically strenuous. So when her mother left for work that day, Buffy got dressed and slid a stake into her waist band out of habit before heading toward Angels.  
  
The sun was out strong and as she felt much better now that she was outside. She took the walk slow, trying to think of exactly what she would say to Angel. "Oh hey, thanks for saving my life and you know, I love you, or at least I did and I think we should give it a go." Just seemed to blunt.  
  
She reached the apartment and paused to sort her thoughts before she knocked. Voices were filtering from under the door, and Buffy pressed her ear against the surface to listen.  
  
"You and I both know what you hunger for. What you need. Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's who we are. It's what makes eternal life worth living. Mm. You can only suppress your real nature for so long. You can feel it brewing inside of you. I hope I'm around when it explodes."  
  
Buffy didn't recognize the voice, but she knew Angel's when he growled that she didn't want to be.  
  
There was pause. "I'm not afraid of you. I bet she is, though. Or maybe I'm underestimating her. Talk to her. Tell her about the curse. Maybe she'll come around. And if she still doesn't trust you, you know where I'll be."  
  
Darla. The voice was Darla.  
  
Forgetting the wound, she pushed the door open and stumbled into the apartment. Darla stood just feet away from her, amused by the intrusion. Angel just looked angry.  
  
Realizing that her act had been on impulse rather then logic, Buffy swallowed hard. She didn't have the strength to fight a vampire as strong as Darla, and it didn't look as if Angel would help her.  
  
"The Slayer." The female vampire hissed, sizing her up with her eyes.  
  
Buffy glared at her, hands itching to go for the stake secured at her waistband, but she waited. No need to make the first move.  
  
"Do you know what the saddest thing in the world is?" She continued as idly, casting a glance back toward Angel who stood still in the shadows.  
  
The Slayer kept silent.  
  
Darla walked around the other blonde. "To love someone who used to love you."  
  
The darkness in the room seemed suffocating as silence descended. And then, Buffy laughed. "No, it's loving someone who you can't have." The Slayer finally whipped the stake out and held it in her hand for both vampires to see. "And it's not sad, it's just love."  
  
Darla growled and her features changed into her true form. She was about to attack, and Buffy didn't know what to do, she was in no condition to fight. Before the vampire had a chance to lunge, Angel growled and launched himself at Darla, sending them both sprawling to the floor.  
  
The Slayer retreated back to give the vampires room. She felt useless standing there as they wrestled on the ground, holding the stake limply in her hand.  
  
Angel had got the upper hand and straddled Darla, keeping her wrists pinned in one hand above her head.  
  
Darla just smiled up at him. "Your hurting me, that's good."  
  
The male vampire growled ferociously and took one of her arms, bending it backwards. She screeched as the bone snapped and Angel climbed off of her. Darla struggled to her feet, clutching her broken arm.  
  
"I don't know what you are anymore Angel." She said low, hurt laced in her words. Her eyes went traveled to Buffy, where she still stood silent. "You can have him girl." The words were spit out harshly, and she ran out of the apartment in vampire speed.  
  
Angel was back in the shadows, breathing heavily. Buffy stepped closer to him. "You didn't kill her."  
  
He looked up at her, and it was then that she realized he was in game face. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came to say thanks, for saving my life." She said with more determination then she knew she had. "I came to talk about things."  
  
"Get out." He growled harshly, fangs reflected in the faint light.  
  
Buffy shook her head and came closer. "We need to talk."  
  
Before the Slayer could realize Angel had slammed her up against the wall, hands digging into her shoulders and eyes level with her. The attack hadn't hurt, was just forceful.  
  
"Every time I see you I want to kiss you." His face still showed his true nature and he took a moment to morph back to his human guise. "You saw me, I'm a vampire, an animal. I'm not safe to be around."  
  
She shook her head slowly and drew a hand up to his cheek. He lessened the pressure on her shoulders, but kept his hands there. "I trust you Angel, isn't that all that matters?"  
  
He turned his face away from her and Buffy let her hand fall back down.  
  
"Go home Buffy."  
  
With a brief nod, she slid away from him and left the apartment without another word. She cast a last glance toward Angel, and wondered how he was always able to blend into the shadows.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
"Ah, the post fumigation party." Xander sighed, placing his feet on the table. Willow smiled tentatively and Buffy watched as Jesse danced with Kristen, his new girlfriend. It had been a week since she had seen Angel, and the absence didn't make her anxious to see him again. The wound had healed completely a few days ago and her mother had been baffled that she was back to good so quickly. She had told Giles what had happened, but had only given Willow the whole story about her encounter with Angel and Darla.  
  
Xander had never kept up on his promise to ask her ask out, which Buffy was happy for. She was confused enough about Angel without having to risk a friendship falling apart over rejection. Just as she was about to get up for something to drink, she noticed a black coated man push his way through the crowed. Buffy was mesmerized as she watched him and Willow tapped her on the arm.  
  
"Angels here." She whispered apprehensively.  
  
The Slayer nodded slowly and got up to meet him in the middle of the dance floor. They stood, not speaking, Angel's gaze elsewhere.  
  
"I owe you an apology." He said finally, letting his eyes meet her own. "I was, what happened. . ."  
  
"I understand." Buffy gave him a small smile.  
  
The song changed to a slow one and the couples around them moved closer to each other. Before the Slayer could say another word Angel wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her. It took her a moment to realize what had happened, but she quickly relaxed in his embrace. Kissing Angel had always been different then Riley or Spike, or anyone for that matter. She had forgotten how much she missed it as she wrapped an arm around his neck.  
  
They parted slowly and Buffy nodded to him. "You OK?"  
  
"It's painful." He told her, dark eyes brimming with something she hadn't seen in them recently. Maybe it was love.  
  
"Better then nothing at all." She nodded to him and left the dance floor. Angel watched her go, hand coming to where her cross had left a deep burn. 


	9. Chapter Eight: I Robot, You Jane

I Robot., You Jane  
  
~Keysuna  
  
A/N There's actually a story behind this. You see, a friend of mine said he was going to pick up the fist season of Buffy on DVD, so instead of reading through the entire manuscript for this episode (because I've never seen it) I decided to wait for him. Well, it took so long it finally ran on FX before he could pick it up. So you can blame my friend on the delay.  
  
The excerpt about Malcolm X is from  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
She deserved it.  
  
For longer then she was comfortable with she had been in no condition to patrol. Giles, Willow and Xander had had to cover for her, although Buffy knew that Angel had gone ahead of them as to fight off any demons that might come their way.  
  
The last thing the Slayer could stand would be one of the scoobies getting hurt.  
  
So when Giles had come to her with an assignment she couldn't bring herself to make up an excuse.  
  
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was scanning books.  
  
"All right, guys, let's wrap it up for today." Mrs. Calendar said as Buffy finished scanning a piece of history text. Setting the book aside she yawned and gazed sleepily around the room. Willow was still hard at work, seemingly not having heard the teachers announcement. Occasional throughout the period she had stolen glances at Xander who had been flipping through the more perverse sections of the books he was supposed to scan.  
  
Jesse had abandoned them long before, opting to spend the afternoon with his girlfriend rather then in the library. Buffy could tell that Xander, Willow and Jesse weren't half as close as they had been, and a lot of that had to do with her. Jesse just wasn't as in to the whole demonic aspect of life as his other life long friends were. The Slayer did blame herself for Jesse's withdrawal from the group, but she theorized that having him still alive was all that mattered.  
  
She stood up to bring her stack of books to Giles so he could organize them in some proper British fashion. Her skirt had hiked up her legs and she knew exactly where Xander's gaze had diverted to. Quickly pulling the material down, she placed the books on Giles desk and waited for two friends to hurry up.  
  
Flattering as it was, the constant attention Xander was paying her was getting a little out of hand. She couldn't exactly place if it had been this bad the first time around, but it had come to a point where she couldn't go just with him to the Bronze as it felt to much like a date. . .  
  
She felt bad enough that she hadn't seen Angel in a few days and Willow was still head over heels for Mr. Harris.  
  
Poor Willow.  
  
Buffy wished she could somehow hook the red head up with Oz but knew that was ludicrous thinking. Willow had never really told her how the two had met up and the Slayer could do nothing to speed the process along. If things went according to plan Willow and Oz would be together through High School and Xander would hopefully find a somewhat loving relationship with Cordelia.  
  
Buffy just hoped she didn't fuck things up to badly.  
  
The Slayer noticed her friend lower her head quickly as to not be noticed by Xander at her admiration. Giles directed Buffy to take the books to his office and she complied with a nod. She was trying to work in her head if there was anyone in the school that would be suitable for Willow in this stage in life. Although the two other computer nerds shared the red head's love for technology, they weren't people Buffy wanted hanging around.  
  
She searched in her mind for a name of someone that Willow might of mentioned their Softmore year. Leaning against the desk in the silence of Giles side office she ran through the list of male students, yet no one triggered her memory.  
  
Sighing, she flipped through one of the books at her side and read the text.  
  
MALCOLM X. Original name MALCOLM LITTLE, Muslim name EL-HAJJ MALIK EL-SHABAZZ (b. May 19, 1925, Omaha, Neb., U.S.--d. Feb. 21, 1965, New York, N.Y.), black militant leader who articulated concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the early 1960s. After his assassination, the widespread distribution of his life story--The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)--made him an ideological hero, especially among black youth. . .  
  
Malcolm, now why did the name sound so familiar?  
  
Buffy jumped up as it suddenly hit her. She tore out of the adjacent office and grabbed the ancient scripture that Fritz had just picked up.  
  
"Sorry." She apologized quickly and gave the shocked boy what she hoped was a great smile. "This book. . . it's not for scanning."  
  
It was then she realized that everyone was staring at her.  
  
Giles was cleaning his glasses out of obvious embarrassment. Ms. Calendar stood a little shocked at Buffy's sudden outburst. Willow was giving her friend a wry smile and a What-is-going-on-with-you look. Xander was just trying not to laugh.  
  
Buffy nervously laughed. "This book. . . it's uh. . . it has bad material." She came up with lamely. "Giles, you might want to look at this."  
  
The Watcher shook his head and followed his Slayer into the small office.  
  
"Next time let's try being a little more oblivious." Giles told her sarcastically as she closed the door them.  
  
"The book has a demon in it." Buffy ignored the Watcher and held it up to him. "You scan it into the computer it's unleashed onto the Internet."  
  
The irritated look on Giles's face quickly melted to worry as he took the book from her hands and flipped through it. "Oh dear." He said, ashen. "That was, good thinking Buffy."  
  
The Slayer smiled to herself but Giles quickly looked up and his eyes had gone back to agitation. "I'll have to come up with an explanation for Ms. Calendar on your ludicrous behavior." His voice was stern.  
  
"Right. . ." Buffy sighed, and then suddenly realized where the sudden change in attitude had come from. "You like her already! Don't you?" She exclaimed excitedly.  
  
Giles blushed from underneath his glasses. "I. . . it's nothing of the sort. She's a colleague, a respected member of his facility-"  
  
"You two are going to date." Buffy cut him off with a plaintive smile.  
  
"What, really?" The Watcher said, trying to hid the guilty glee with a shocked face.  
  
Buffy nodded with large grin before it turned into a thoughtful gaze as she remembered the past. "You deserve to have more with her then you did."  
  
Giles met her eyes as though trying to read in her gaze exactly what she meant but Buffy shook her head to clear it and returned with her usual bright facade. "Think I'm going to take Willow and Xander and get out of here." She waved to him and went to the door, stopping before opening it. "Burn the book."  
  
The Watcher nodded his understanding and watched as the Slayer bounced out of the room. Instead of returning back out he flicked on the light and sat at the desk, beginning to look through the book. The language was one he was only vaguely familiar with and it took all his concentration to translate. Which was good, because it kept thoughts about the women standing the doorway from entering his mind.  
  
"Rupert?" She asked after watching him for a brief while. He shot his head up and jumped at the sight of her, nearly falling at his chair. She hid a smile. "Is everything all right? Buffy, Willow and Xander left her in a hurry and I just wanted to know what happened."  
  
"Oh." Giles said awkwardly, sliding a desk drawer open and placing the book in it. "Everything is fine. Buffy just needed to ask me something."  
  
Jenny nodded and walked further into the room, closing the door behind her. Giles noticed that the other two boys had left as well. "I got that actually." She paused and looked around the small room as though gathering herself. "Is there something I could ask you?"  
  
"Of course." The Watcher said as she picked up a miniature wood carving of a cult goddess and played with it to rest her nerves.  
  
"I was looking through the books in the library. The ones of your. . . personal collection." She finally breathed out. "They aren't exactly what I'd call orthodox." She set the figurine down.  
  
Giles felt his stomach sink as he realized what she was referring to. She must have seen the texts on demons and hell dimensions he had carelessly left in the open.  
  
"I was wondering if I could borrow one of them?" She said before he could contemplate a lame excuse about the books.  
  
He had half expected her to report him to the principal. "What would you want with matters of the occult?" His voice was shocked.  
  
"I'm a Technopagan." She said plainly.  
  
Giles gave her a quizzical look and she sighed before explaining.  
  
"A technopagan, like a witch, except through wires and silicone. Think the divine only exist in books? Think again?"  
  
The Watcher absorbed the information. "So you have power?"  
  
Jenny gave a harsh bark. "No, no power. But what are you? A sorcerer?"  
  
"No. . ." Giles trailed as she stood from the desk. "A Watcher."  
  
The computer teachers astonishment was obvious. "Like for a Vampire Slayer? I had no idea that there were potentials in this school."  
  
Giles silently cursed himself for letting Buffy's secrete slip so easily. He had a hard time articulating his thoughts around this women and he hadn't felt this way since meeting Olivia in Britain. His Slayer had made it seem as though Jenny was apart of this slowly growing group and she had already confessed to knowledge of the demonic world.  
  
"A Slayer, to be precise." He sighed before telling her the whole truth. "Buffy's the vampire Slayer."  
  
Ms. Calendar choked back laughter. "The pretty blonde in the skirt? The one Xander couldn't keep his eyes off of? She's the Chosen One?"  
  
Giles gave a small grin at her disbelief. "She's more then she seems."  
  
Jenny shook her head as though trying to grasp the information and then glanced at her watch. "Shoot." She said. "I got a meeting in five minutes, look, you mind if I take your book on seventeenth century vampires?"  
  
"Feel free." Giles said as he moved forward to follow her out.  
  
"Thanks." Jenny grinned as they left the room. He handed her the book which had been left on the tabletop and she smiled to him before leaving through the swinging doors.  
  
~ ~ ~  
  
Buffy was careful that night as she patrolled. Tiptoeing across graves of the lost and listening to the whispers carried on the wind. If she concentrated hard enough, sometimes she could feel the power running through the undead and into the ground beneath her. The power that was also connected to her.  
  
But her thoughts were to distracted for that kind of commitment.  
  
Images of tear stains against Willows cheeks and the trembling voice of Giles as he spoke of Jenny's death. The mocking laugh of Angelus as he watched their suffering. They all filled her mind and she couldn't chase them out.  
  
And in contrast, she remembered what had expired before. The elated Giles who had just rekindles his passion with the computer teacher. Angels eyes as he leaned into kissed her, the ones that burned with love and compassion.  
  
The ones that she turned to a hate filled gaze.  
  
Her body was heavy guilt as she walked along the gravestones. It was her fault Ms. Calendar had been killed, brutally slaughtered by the hands of her lover. But she knew better this time around, knew exactly why the computer teacher had come to Sunnydale, and that sleeping with the ensould vampire would only result in the falling of an Angel.  
  
Buffy knew all of this. Apart of her told her she should turn Ms. Calendar away and leave Angel. She had to protect these lives. But she also needed to know the Giles was happy, and he had never been more content then when he had been with Jenny.  
  
And the Slayer couldn't bear the thought of leaving Angel. Not when everything was new for the second time. She could experience everything she wanted, she just had to know when to the draw the line.  
  
Buffy had to teach herself self control if she wanted to play the game this way. 


End file.
